Woodrow Wilson, John Milton Cooper, Jr.
Woodrow Wilson, John Milton Cooper, Jr.
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Woodrow Wilson
A Biography

Author: John Milton Cooper, Jr.

Narrator: John McDonough

Unabridged: 11 hr 49 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 04/02/2010


Synopsis

The first major biography of America’s twenty-eighth president in nearly two decades, from one of America’s foremost Woodrow Wilson scholars.

A Democrat who reclaimed the White House after sixteen years of Republican administrations, Wilson was a transformative president—he helped create the regulatory bodies and legislation that prefigured FDR’s New Deal and would prove central to governance through the early twenty-first century, including the Federal Reserve system and the Clayton Antitrust Act; he guided the nation through World War I; and, although his advocacy in favor of joining the League of Nations proved unsuccessful, he nonetheless established a new way of thinking about international relations that would carry America into the United Nations era. Yet Wilson also steadfastly resisted progress for civil rights, while his attorney general launched an aggressive attack on civil liberties.

Even as he reminds us of the foundational scope of Wilson’s domestic policy achievements, John Milton Cooper, Jr., reshapes our understanding of the man himself: his Wilson is warm and gracious—not at all the dour puritan of popular imagination. As the president of Princeton, his encounters with the often rancorous battles of academe prepared him for state and national politics. Just two years after he was elected governor of New Jersey, Wilson, now a leader in the progressive movement, won the Democratic presidential nomination and went on to defeat Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft in one of the twentieth century’s most memorable presidential elections. Ever the professor, Wilson relied on the strength of his intellectual convictions and the power of reason to win over the American people.

John Milton Cooper, Jr., gives us a vigorous, lasting record of Wilson’s life and achievements. This is a long overdue, revelatory portrait of one of our most important presidents—particularly resonant now, as another president seeks to change the way government relates to the people and regulates the economy.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Tim on August 17, 2022

It seems fashionable these days to hate on Woodrow Wilson, no matter what your political perspective is. But if you want a smart attempt at a more favorable take, you might enjoy this. I’m not convinced, but it was well written and there was a lot of good food for thought. Wilson went from a career i......more

Goodreads review by Whitebeard on April 18, 2017

Exceptionally interesting information here! Woodrow Wilson is one of those overlooked presidents I believe. He was years ahead of his time and had intrigue while in office. He seems to have been a man with a combination of ingredients that took a small portion of many other presidents. He had a sex......more

Goodreads review by Shawn on August 29, 2017

A great history about an unlikely man who became president. I loved all the detail put into this book. It was well researched. Well written and and a very accessible read. A very good biography about this man.......more

Goodreads review by Jonathan on November 30, 2024

A very well-written biography of the 28th President by the magnificently-named John Milton Cooper. There is certainly a lot to either like or dislike about Wilson, who's probably best known for his failure at the end of his presidency to get the Senate to pass an unrevised version of the Versailles......more

Goodreads review by Jacob on October 29, 2024

This is more of a 3.5, but I read this for a new job at the President Woodrow Wilson House museum. It is highly informative and great for fact checking, but can be dense and full of political minutiae at times.......more