The Invisible Presidency

viii, [2], 438 pages. Half-title page has a clipped corner. Sources Consulted. Index. Louis W Koenig was a noted scholar of the presidency. He taught political science at New York University for 36 years until his retirement when he became a Visiting Distinguished Professor at Long Island University, where he taught until 2009. He earned his A.B. and his Ph.D. from Columbia University. He was the author of several major books and is best known for his classic text, The Chief Executive. Derived from a Kirkus review: This is a serious examination of an intriguing area of American history. The purpose of the book is to investigate the doings of the more important presidential favorites, to see what they were like, how they operated and what they accomplished in their place beside the throne whether they launched the Republic, helped transform the U.S. to a world power or were the Brain Trusters or the architects of the new postwar world. The author concentrates on: Alexander Hamilton -- (George Washington), Martin Van Buren -- (Andrew Jackson), William Loeb, Jr.-(Theodore Roosevelt), Col. Edward M. House -(Woodrow Wilson), Thomas G. Corcoran -(F.D.R.), Harry Hopkins -- (F.D.R.), Sherman Adams -(Dwight D. Eisenhower). The author's conclusion: since presidents require assistants of one kind or another it's preferable that they be of an "inner circle" type so that they can act as checks on each other. An inevitably interesting record. …