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Woodrow Wilson: A Biography (2009)

by John Milton Cooper Jr.(Favorite Author)

3.81 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0307265412 (ISBN13: 9780307265418)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Knopf

review 1: A very well-written biography of the 28th President by the magnificently-named John Milton Cooper. There is certainly a lot to either like or dislike about Wilson, who's probably best known for his failure at the end of his presidency to get the Senate to pass an unrevised version of the Versailles Treaty that would have placed the USA in the League of Nations. Against this, one should keep in mind Wilson's successes in implementing his progressive domestic goals during his first term, but one need also keep in mind that he oversaw the segregation of the civil service. There's plenty of material to chew over here, and Cooper presents it all in a enjoyable narrative. Cooper isn't exactly worshipful, but he occasionally can't help excusing Wilson's weaker performances or sup... moreposing "what-ifs." Nonetheless, this is a good solid biography.
review 2: I was hoping for something along the lines of "Team of Rivals", a book that distills the unique genius of a man dealing with impossibly difficult times. "Woodrow Wilson" is a true biography in that it chronicles his life in excruciating detail with the more interesting events addressed as milestones. A more interesting book would be structured inversely where the focus is on the events and the story would be about how Wilson marshalled the country and the world to meet them, or failed to do so. Of course there's some of that in this book but unfortunately, presented as it is, this book just doesn't make for very good reading. less

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