Those interested in American political history and the founding of our constitutional government will find this book extremely helpful. Borden fills a unique niche in American history and the history of political parties by describing how American political parties developed in the early republic. While most knowledgeable people are aware that the founding fathers abhorred political parties as institutionalized factions that were destructive to democratic principles, Borden gracefully describes how the founding fathers nonetheless became drawn to parties as a means of gaining control. Indeed, without the founding of the Democratic-Republican Party the Alien and Sedition Acts may never have been repealed and our government may look very different. The impact of foreign policy (pro-British Federalists and pro-French Democratic-Republicans) is also discussed at length. A short read and a valuable resource, I recommend this book heartily.

In this edition, Morton Borden has updated his earlier work, "American's ten greatest presidents." Borden acts as the editor while each president is covered by a separate historian. Presumably both the historians and the presidents have been selected by Borden. At times certain historians may seem to ramble, but overall the writing flows well and doesn't vary too widely from chapter to chapter. Nothing new seems to have been put into the original ten chapters/presidents, and the work's sole addition is a chapter on Truman written by Richard Kirkendall. Other presidents covered are Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Jackson, Polk, Lincoln, Cleveland, T. Roosevelt, Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt.

Overall this work, and the early edition, serve as worthwhile overviews of the presidencies and presidents covered. But this book is NOT a factual reserve to be used for heavy-duty reference. It's much more aptly considered as an INTRODUCTION to eleven US presidents. I used it, along with other titles, to study for the AP US History exam. For that goal it is useful, and thus I gave it 3 stars (3 stars is "useful"; I am a 'hard grader'). I haven't read many other books like it, though, and cannot compare it to other like-minded titles-- so there may well be a more modern resource better suited to an individual's scholarly needs. You'd have to browse around on Amazon.com and check that out.

Sidenote: I liked the initial three chapters on Washington, Adams, and Jefferson. Since they all served in a row (1888-1808), the three chapters read in a row really convey a sense of the period (which may be lacking as the book later skips ahead 20 or 30 years to reach the new president). I especially remember the efforts to which all three presidents went to keep us out of foreign entanglements. Great presidents indeed.

According to a survey of Presidential historians by the Chicago Tribune, the top five Presidents were:

1)Abraham Lincoln
2)Franklin D. Roosevelt
3)George Washington
4)Theodore Roosevelt
5)Thomas Jefferson

Another national study I read found the same results, except with FDR and Washington switching places.

I disagree with the premise that Grover Cleveland and Harry S. Truman deserve to be ranked with these great Presidents. You can also make a case for ranking Adams, Jackson, and Wilson below other presidents.

I do think they rank above the mixed records of the most recent Presidents of Jimmy Carter (peacemaker but troubled economy and Iran), Ronald Reagan (cold war warrior but massive budget deficits for handouts to top 1%), George Bush (successful coalition against Iraq but massive budget deficits and no direction), and Bill Clinton (balanced budget and strong economic policy but sex and pardon scandals).

James K. Polk belongs ranked below them all.