Warren G. Harding

Children's Literature

During the run-up to the Republican National Convention in 1920 presidential candidate Warren G. Harding was quoted as stating, "The only thing I really worry about is that I might be nominated and elected. That's an awful thing to contemplate." Amazingly, Harding eventually won not only his party's nomination for the highest office in the land, but also received over 60% of the popular vote in the national election. Once elected President of the United States, Harding presided over an administration so bland in its substance that he has come down to us as one of the lowest-rated Presidents in American history. Privately, Warren Gamaliel Harding was a man more prone to dedicate time and energy to the pursuit of his extra-marital affairs and golf than to the executive tasks of his position. Harding died in office at a time when his popularity with the everyday voters across the nation was relatively high. Subsequent public disclosures regarding Harding's indiscretions, as well as governmental corruption, eroded the love Americans felt for Harding. This title is part of the "Presidential Leaders" series and it presents a comprehensive profile of Warren G. Harding. In the end, Harding died a relative failure as a leader, husband, and father. That story is ably told in this well-written and carefully researched work. 2005, Lerner, Ages 12 up.
—Greg M. Romaneck