Noted author Gruner presents a stirring compendium of eighteen United States presidents, spanning one hundred years. The timeframe begins with the administration of Warren G. Harding, concluding in the current era in which Donald Trump serves a second term in office. Gruner's composition is a massive undertaking, especially laudable for its lack of partisan stance and its vast panoply of diligently researched historical detail.

Each character in focus receives a wide-ranging examination, beginning, for example, when Warren G. Harding supported the need for an eight-hour workday and legislated in favor of anti-lynching and racial equality. Calvin Coolidge, who rose to office following Harding's demise in 1923, was often referred to by his detractors as having been "weaned on a melon," a reference to his conversational reticence. His term encompassed the "Roaring Twenties," enabling him to support tax breaks, reduce government spending, and grant citizenship to Native Americans. The Great Depression challenged J. Edgar Hoover as poverty was extreme, and colonies of homeless people were dubbed "Hoovervilles." Though he did all he could in the circumstances, his term as president, Gruner notes, is rated among the bottom ten.

Harry S. Truman took office after the sustained, admirable handling by Franklin D. Roosevelt of the US position in World War II, calling for many decisive actions in a time of desperate danger. Truman brought the nation out of wartime and into a peacetime economy, fighting for universal healthcare despite it being labeled "socialism." General Dwight D. Eisenhower strongly and studiously avoided all possibilities of war during his terms. Richard M. Nixon put an end to the Vietnam War, a sterling accomplishment, but became the only President to resign after the complexities of what would be known as the Watergate scandal. Barack Obama, the first and thus far only Black president, devised the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to deal with a swiftly burgeoning economic crisis, and negotiated a radical healthcare plan for all Americans that supported preventive care and offered treatment for alcohol and drug abuse.

This special edition of the author's book was undertaken to commemorate America's two-hundred-fiftieth anniversary. Gruner opens his dynamic view of American politics with the statement by early President John Adams, that the American colonies "are and of rights ought to be free and independent States." This bold underlying principle can be seen as generally enacted in a myriad of ways in the century that Gruner's book so expertly analyzes.

Following a career as a founder and successful executive at technology firms, Gruner began researching and writing. Working with a large collection of contributors, Gruner maintains a firm stance regarding each of the country's leaders cited, recounting their triumphs and deficits, utilizing rational, well-grounded questions and providing, at all times, fair-minded declarations and highly informative materials to convey the multitude of challenges faced by each president. Through Gruner's efforts, readers will grasp how the US has achieved general stability through ever-changing leadership styles and the "bold, courageous steps" needed to consolidate and unite America's consistent, progressive domain.

RECOMMENDED by the US Review

Gruner's COVID Wars was a 2026 Eric Hoffer Book Award Grand Prize Short List book.

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