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Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford
Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford | Richard Norton Smith
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"Richard Norton Smith had brought a lifetime of wisdom, insight, and storytelling verve to the life of a consequential president--Gerald R. Ford. Ford's is a very American life, and Smith has charted its vicissitudes and import with great grace and illuminating perspective. A marvelous achievement!" -- Jon MeachamFrom the preeminent presidential scholar and acclaimed biographer of historical figures including George Washington, Herbert Hoover, and Nelson Rockefeller comes this eye-opening life of Gerald R. Ford, whose presidency arguably set the course for post-liberal America and a post-Cold War world.For many Americans, President Gerald Ford was the genial accident of history who controversially pardoned his Watergate-tarnished predecessor, presided over the fall of Saigon, and became a punching bag on Saturday Night Live. Yet as Richard Norton Smith reveals in a book full of surprises, Ford was an underrated leader whose tough decisions and personal decency look better with the passage of time.Drawing on hundreds of interviews and thousands of documents, Smith recreates Ford's hardscrabble childhood in Michigan, his early anti-establishment politics and lifelong love affair with the former Betty Bloomer, whose impact on American culture he predicted would outrank his own. As president, Ford guided the nation through its worst Constitutional crisis since the Civil War and broke the back of the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression--accomplishing both with little fanfare or credit (at least until 2001 when the JFK Library gave him its prestigious Profile in Courage Award in belated recognition of the Nixon pardon).Less coda than curtain raiser, Ford's administration bridged the Republican pragmatism of Eisenhower and Nixon and the more doctrinaire conservatism of Ronald Reagan. His introduction of economic deregulation would transform the American economy, while his embrace of the Helsinki Accords hastened the collapse of the Soviet Union.Illustrated with sixteen pages of black-and-white photos, this definitive biography, a decade in the making, will change history's views of a man whose warning about presidential arrogance ("God help the country") is more relevant than ever.
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This is my most recent stop on my quest read a biography of every President. My thought that President Ford, our only unelected President, was amongst our most decent and ethical was bolstered by this book. Very interesting read if this sort if history is your thing.

Bookwormjillk Thanks! His house when he was a congressman is in my neighborhood and I‘ve been wanting to read a book about him. 14mo
Ericalambbrown @Bookwormjillk I felt like this was a wonderfully even handed biography. There‘s a lot about his time in Congress, so give it a go maybe! I plan to visit his libraries after reading this. 💕 14mo
Eggs Great goal!! 14mo
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Bookwormjillk @Ericalambbrown we went to Grand Rapids this summer and it was super interesting. Even my kids liked it. (My 12 year old daughter said “I love a coverup” 🤣) 14mo
Ericalambbrown @Bookwormjillk Hahaha!!!! That‘s funny 14mo
fredthemoose I‘m on the same quest! Any favorites so far? 14mo
Ericalambbrown @fredthemoose this book was fantastic and it‘s about one of our lesser know presidents, James A Garfield 14mo
Ericalambbrown @fredthemoose Sure! This is not a comprehensive biography but it‘s s fun little book about Truman‘s post presidency years. 14mo
fredthemoose @Ericalambbrown Fun! I just listened to the McCullough book about Truman a couple of months ago. This sounds like a fun add-on. 14mo
Ericalambbrown @fredthemoose the McCullough Truman was fantastic! 14mo
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