Booknotes+

James M. Bradley's biography of Martin Van Buren is the first full-scale portrait of the 8th president in 4 decades. Mr. Bradley is co-editor of the Martin Van Buren papers and teaches in the public history program at the State University of New York at Albany. In his introduction, he writes: "As this biography will show, reaching the nation's highest office was not Van Buren's greatest achievement. He built and designed the party system that defined how politics was practiced and power wielded in the United States." Van Buren is known as the principal founder of the Democratic Party.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A book called "The Wise Men" was first published in 1986. The cover copy says that "it was about six friends and the world they made." The names Harriman, Lovett, Acheson, McCloy, Kennan, and Bohlen are only to be found in the history books today. Co-authors Evan Thomas and Walter Isaacson were in their mid-thirties. In the updated 2012 introduction to the paperback, they wrote: "In their time, the wise men operated largely behind the scenes, little known by the public, but they achieved great things." According to Thomas and Isaacson, those great things included the shaping of the world order today, the creation of international institutions, and the forging of lasting peace in a perilous time. We asked Evan Thomas, now in his 70s: Who are the wise men of today? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this engaging discussion, Corey Brettschneider, a constitutional law professor at Brown University and author of "The Presidents and the People," delves into the darker legacies of several U.S. presidents, including John Adams and Richard Nixon. He examines how these figures challenged democracy, from Adams' war on the press to Nixon's criminal acts. The conversation also highlights Woodrow Wilson’s impact on racial justice and the vital role of citizen activism in holding leaders accountable. Historical context enriches the exploration of democracy and civil rights.

Talmage Boston, a lawyer and historian residing in Dallas, dives deep into leadership lessons from top U.S. presidents in his book, 'How the Best Did It.' He shares fascinating anecdotes about his journey from baseball to a passion for presidential history. Boston discusses critical leadership traits of icons like Washington and Lincoln, emphasizing their strengths, flaws, and moral complexities. The conversation also covers his rigorous research methods and the collaborative efforts in documenting Reagan's legacy, alongside the importance of respectful communication in today's political landscape.

The title of the book is "In This Economy?" The author, Kyla Scanlon, subtitles her 277-page effort: "How Money and Markets Really Work." Ms. Scanlon is a 27-year-old graduate of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. The author description in the back of the book says Kyla Scanlon is a writer and a video creator focused on "human-centric economic analysis that demystifies the complex." The author background note continues: "She is the founder of the financial education company called Bread." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tess Owen, a journalist focused on extremism and disinformation, shares her insights from her article 'Inside the Patriot Wing.' She reveals how she connected with over 1,400 January 6 defendants in D.C. Jail. The conversation dives into the complex emotional dynamics within the 'Patriot Wing,' examining how confinement shapes their beliefs. Owen also discusses the personal stories behind their radicalization and the role of community support through fundraising efforts. Her journalistic journey highlights the challenge of navigating sensitive topics while seeking truth.

In 1943, in the middle of World War II, the Allied leaders FDR, Winston Churchill, and Josef Stalin were planning to meet secretly in Tehran. The Nazis wanted to kill them.In his book "Night of the Assassins," author Howard Blum tells the story of "Operation Long Jump," the code name for the Nazi plan to assassinate the Allied leaders. In telling this story, author Blum says: "I wanted to write a suspenseful character-driven story of men, heroes, and villains caught up in a tense, desperate time, who needed to find courage and cunning to do their duty for their countries and to fulfill their own sense of honor." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Max Boot, in his 836-page book titled "Reagan: His Life and Legend," says that his is the first definitive biography of the 40th president. Boot suggests that Edmund Morris, the president's official biographer, "appeared to be so flummoxed by the complexities of Reagan's character that he produced 'Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan,' that was widely criticized in spite of its acute insights." Max Boot also points out in his introduction: "I am fortunate that Ronald Reagan's story can now be told as never before because we possess far more archival sources and far more historical perspective." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brenda Wineapple calls them "two gladiators." The year was 1925. She writes that "the ubiquitous politician William Jennings Bryan and the criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow, each of them national celebrities for decades, were going into battle over God and science and the classroom and, not incidentally, over what it meant to be an American." Brenda Wineapple's latest book is titled "Keeping the Faith" and is about the Scopes Trial, held in the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, which focused on the state law that prohibited the teaching of evolution in the schools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harvey Mansfield has been a professor of political philosophy at Harvard for over 6 decades. He retired from the classroom in 2023 at age 91. However, he's not finished thinking and writing about his favorite subject: democracy and how it works. In the Wall Street Journal of September 7, 2024, Professor Mansfield wrote an essay with this opening: "The Supreme Court case of Trump v. U.S. was about more than special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Donald Trump, which continues under a superseding indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Washington. The decision and the dissents contain a fundamental debate about the presidency that looks beyond the present personalities and campaign." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices