This is a solid though not exceptional biography of a fairly boring president. Taft had the misfortune to attempt to follow Theodore Roosevelt, the most interesting president in history, and then to become Roosevelt's rival. While Taft seems like an honest and well-meaning man, he didn't really have the charisma or leadership skills to be a great president. Rosen does a good job explaining Taft's life through the paradigm of his strict constructionist view of the Constitution (an admirable position, but out of favor among popular politicians of Taft's day). Taft was a reluctant politician, seemingly pushed into political power by circumstances, necessity, and an ambitious wife. Where he excelled (and enjoyed himself) was the legal profession. Taft eventually made it to the Supreme Court, where he seemed to feel much more at home than in the White House.

While Taft is far from being one of my favorite presidents, this biography does a good job with the material that it has. If you are looking for a shorter biography to get a feel for who Taft was and what he did, this is a good choice. I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher and was not required to write a positive review.

Many thanks go to Jeffrey Rosen, Times Books, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. This book is the next installment of the American President Series. There is an introduction to what a president is and what makes a great president. Then the story of the particular presidency follows. This books begins with a general overview of Taft before leading to his relationship with his father and college career. From there it's a continuous rise culminating in the White House. However he would say he never met his goal until he became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, where he would serve until his retirement from public service. Taft is known as a Constitutional president. He basically reversed many of Roosevelt's rulings because they were not passed through Congress. I found him a very interesting man. We all know him for his weight problem. This book proves there was so much more to him than that.

The author does a wonderful job of illuminating Taft's legal background and how it influenced his decisions as President. For a short bio it touched all the aspects of his career and personality to give you a complete picture of him.

William Howard Taft is a former President that it is hard to find a biography on, as he is not one of the more popular ones. This biography was well-done, as the author focused on providing information on the highlights of his life, but did not feel the need to fill pages with worthless background information.

I received a free Kindle copy of William Howard Taft by Jeffrey Rosen courtesy of Net Galley  and Henry Holt and Company, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I have read a number of biographies on American Presidents, but this is the first devoted to William Howard Taft that I have read. It is the first book by Jeffrey Rosen that I have read.

This book is part of the American President's series and compares favorably to the other one that I read about Ulysess S. Grant. These books are not intended to be indepth biographies, but ones that hit the highlights with some background. This approach makes for a fairly quick read and appeals to those who do not want an indepth detailed account of a President's life.

I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in American President biographies, but is not interested in a detailed narrative.

Jeffrey Rosen's short biography of William Howard Taft is one of the more enjoyable volumes I've read in The American Presidents series. Taft, the only individual to serve as both President of the United States and Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, is not the dynamic figure of his predecessor and mentor Theodore Roosevelt, but is an interesting study in his own right. This book focuses almost exclusively on Taft in his two most prominent roles (POTUS and Chief Justice of SCOTUS), so if you're looking for a more detailed exploration of Taft's early life, this isn't the book for you. At the same time, Rosen does an excellent job of highlighting Taft's major accomplishments in both of his chief offices. Taft comes across as a man supremely devoted to this rule of law and the constitution, attributes that served him well as Chief Justice, but somewhat limited his effectiveness as President.

A worthy addition to The American Presidents series, Rosen's book will be enjoyed by those with an interest in the US Presidency, the US Supreme Court, or the the Progessive Era of the early 20th century.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

'Taft is not a page turner. Though it is a relatively short book and seems to lack some detail, it just plods along with an overemphasis on Taft quotations. A dry read is an understatement. Taft's relationship with Teddy Roosevelt is mildly interesting but does not rise to compelling drama.