The Presidents: Noted Historians Rank America’s Best–and Worst–Chief Executives
Brian Lamb and Susan Swain, with special contributions by Douglas Brinkley, Edna Greene Medford, and Richard Norton Smith
PublicAffairs (April 2019)

Whatever the specific rankings, here is an abundance of valuable information and insights

Predictably, opinions continue to be divided about the defining characteristics of a great President of the United States and even if everyone agreed on the criteria, there would no doubt be sharply divided opinion about who should be ranked among the top ten, those in the middle, and all the rest. Donald Trump is not included because he has not as yet completed his first term. However, Douglas Brinkley, Edna Greene Medford, and Richard Norton Smith discuss him, suggesting a few comparisons and contrasts with predecessors.

I commend Brian Lamb and Susan Swain on this latest volume in which the results of a survey of experts — conducted in 2017 — who were asked to rank America’s best and worst chief executives, George Washington through Barack Obama. (There were two previous surveys in 2000 through William J. Clinton and then in 2009 through George W. Bush.) The great value of this material is this volume lies not in the rankings but rather in the quality of the historians’ insights into the unique challenges and — yes — the unique opportunities that each of the Presidents faced, upon taking office. In a phrase, their historical context.

The ten best: Lincoln, Washington, FDR, Theodore Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Truman, Jefferson, Kennedy, Reagan, and LBJ. I was surprised how high Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Reagan were ranked.

The ten worst: Van Buren, Arthur, Hoover, Fillmore, Harrison, Tyler, Harding, Pierce, Andrew Johnson, and Buchanan.  I was surprised how low Hoover was ranked.

All were ranked by 91 nationally recognized presidential historians or biographers according to ten qualities. Each of those listed as well as those “in the middle” is discussed in detail by an authority.

Reader-friendly devices include Douglas Brinkley’s “A Brief History of Presidential Rankings,” “Historians’ Perspectives on Donald Trump,” and two apprendices: “Historians’ Survey on Presidential Leadership, Total Scores, and Overall Rankings,” and, “U.S. Presidents in Chronological Order.” They are followed by “Complete List of Featured Books,” bibliographical information for each of the highlighted authors.

To repeat an opinion shared earlier, the great value of this material is this volume lies not in the rankings but rather in the quality of the historians’ insights into the unique challenges and — yes — the unique opportunities that each of the Presidents faced, upon taking office. In a phrase, their historical context.

There will be disagreements about the relative rankings but most reasonable people will agree that the United States has been blessed to have great leadership provided by some Presidents and has proven to be strong enough to survive the inadequacies of others. Washington was there when his country needed him then and later the same can be said of a few others, notably Lincoln and the two Roosevelts later.