The Modern Presidency

THE MODERN PRESIDENCY, Fifth Edition, is a concise, accessible and sophisticated text on the presidency. Case studies-a major strength of this short text-illustrate important aspects of presidential action and decision-making. Written by a top scholar on the presidency, and thoroughly updated through 2006 to include the presidency of George W. Bush, the text deals not only with presidents as individuals, but also with the large institutions that make up the modern presidency.

Pfiffner (public policy, George Mason University) examines the development of the Presidency, especially during the last part of the twentieth century. He discusses the origin and powers of the office, the president's relationship with the public, the role of the White House staff, the Cabinet and the executive branch, the President's relationship with Congress, national security, and the abuse of power. He compares and contrasts recent presidents and their approach to these aspects of the job. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

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Pfiffner (government and public policy, George Mason U.) portrays the presidency as being not so much the president himself, but the numerous people and institutions that support him. Concentrating on the era of the modern presidency (1933 to the present), he explains how what was once a small group of presidential advisors has grown into a large collection of bureaucracies, and how White House staffers have gradually replaced Cabinet secretaries as primary advisors to the president. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

James P. Pfiffner is a University Professor in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University. He has also taught at the University of California, Riverside and California State University, Fullerton. He has written or edited ten books on the presidency, including THE STRATEGIC PRESIDENCY: HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING, 2nd Edition ( 1996) and THE CHARACTER FACTOR: HOW WE JUDGE AMERICA'S PRESIDENTS (2004). He has also published more than 80 articles and book chapters on the presidency, American government, and public management. As an elected member of the National Academy of Public Administration, he has been a panel member or on project staffs of the National Commission on the Public Service (the Volcker Commission), the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Center for the Study of the Presidency.