Fit for the Presidency?

I enjoy books of this nature as they make you think. It alsoi serves to bring to loight individuals who, with time, have escaped the light oif history. Bring to light the story of past unsuccessful candidates illustrates the fact that what is important in a candidate at one time may not be so important later. You may not agree with the interpretation of some oif the facts here but it will cause you to contemplate how future historians may look back at oiur current conundrum.

Fit For the Presidency? Winners, Losers, What-Ifs and Also-Rans by Seymour Morris Jr. (2017) An examination of a variety of men who have run for the highest office in the land and some who only considered it. Beginning with George Washington, and ending with Ronald Reagan, historian Seymour Morris takes a look at the qualifications they brought to the contest. The result is a fascinating new way of looking at our candidates.


Morris takes a fascinating tack with each of these stories. He presents them all in the present tense. It's as if we are looking at them in their time and place as voters sizing up the candidates. It brings and interesting sense of immediacy to their stories.

There were plenty of people I thought I knew pretty well here (Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Herbert Hoover, Robert Kennedy Ronald Reagan) but Morris manages to find some interesting new details. There are a couple that I have NEVER heard of (William Gibbs McAdoo, Henry Wallace). The rest were at least vaguely familiar ( DeWitt Clinton, William Henry Harrison,Samuel J. Tilden, William Randolph Hearst,Wendell Wilkie, George Marshall, Barry Goldwater). By the end of the book, you will know them all in passing and be surprised at least a couple times.

At the end, Morris looks at the grades given and ranks all the candidates. My bet is that that final ranking will start a conversation all of its own. Seven of the fifteen make the "qualified" list, four are "less qualified" and four are "unqualified".

If I have a quibble with the book, it is that Morris dips into modern political commentary twice. The first came in the very first chapter (Washington) and came close to turning me off right at the beginning. He managed to avoid that urge through the rest of the book, only to dip his toe into it again in the final chapter (Reagan). Beyond the fact that they serve as the bookends for the book itself, they are also the only two chapters that approach hagiographies (the life story of saints). Morris can be a fan of whoever he likes, but he detracts from the excellence of the rest of his work with the unneeded contemporary politics. The historical perspective alone makes the book a wonderful read.

Morris has created a book that will intrigue both the historical beginner and devotee.

There is an interesting connection between history and today, that Morris allows the reader to find on their own. There has been a lot of talk about two candidates being "unprecedented" in American politics. Take note of the stories of William Randolph Hearst and Henry A. Wallace, and see if they don't remind you of two candidates in this current election cycle.

Speaking of which I have no idea why this book isn't coming out PRIOR to the election. It would be the perfect conversation starter on the vital question posed in the title.


"Fit For the Presidency" will hit bookshelves January 1, 2017. It is being published by University of Nebraska Press, Potomac Books.

Why I Liked It - An unusual and informative approach to an important part of our political history.

Why You Will Like It - Fascinating looks at historical figures you think you know, and several you have never heard of.

Rating - **** Recommended

The premise of this book is quite interesting: What might we learn by examining, exclusively, the resumes and references of various candidates for the presidency? Forget the crazy media train, here we're just looking at qualifications and how their peers felt about them. Each chapter lays out the candidates essentials, their resume, an overview of how they are viewed by the media and their contemporaries, and a conclusion relating what actually ended up happening to them. Some became President, some weren't even nominated, and some are just a footnote as an "also ran".

Morris takes a look at both winners and losers of the Presidency in an effort to be as well-rounded as possible. He covers the usual suspects of Washington and Lincoln, though I wouldn't say there are any new revelations there. William Henry Harrison was thrown in as well, and I always enjoy reading about Old Tippecanoe. Morris even delves into Jefferson Davis, the first (and only) President of the Confederacy, as well as General Marshall who was never even chosen for a ticket but was highly considered. I loved that Morris went off the beaten path in order to discuss candidates you might know nothing about. The chapter on DeWitt Clinton had me looking for his biography when I realized I didn't know anything about this amazing man.

The only issue I had with this book was formatting. Reading the resumes backwards was confusing. I understand it since this is the standard format of real-world resumes, but here it was just confusing to keep up with each mans accomplishments since you were reading them in descending order. Also, as a personal aside, I wish Morris had covered President Buchanan since he was arguably the <i>most</i> well qualified person to ever run and win the presidency, which made it even more sad that he wasn't up to the job itself.

While I don't think I learned much about the candidates who became Presidents, I certainly discovered more about those who didn't. I love discovering things I never knew about, and this book as definitely made me look up books on other related people and topics. On the whole, I don't know that I am walking away knowing who was more qualified then anyone else, but I am thinking more about how important the "also-rans" are to history and that they have a story outside their candidacy.

<i>Copy courtesy of University of Nebraska Press/Potomac Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

This is a fantastic book that basically reviews people who ran for President of the US in the past, as if they were submitting a resume for a job interview. It also goes a step further and evaluates them after the fact, whether they managed to become elected or not. It discusses several well known figures like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, as well as far lesser known people like DeWitt Clinton and William McAdoo. I consider myself pretty well versed in presidential history, but I learned a lot of interesting facts from this one. Highly recommended.