Calvin Coolidge: A Biography

This is a fine biography of an enigmatic American president. Enigmatic may not be the precisely accurate word. Coolidge was plain-spoken, but spoke little. The slightly humorous image of him as "Silent Cal," the man few people could get more than two words out of, turns out to be a fitting one. Over and over throughout the book are examples of Coolidge refusing to state a position, refusing to let even his closest associates know his thoughts, refusing to intervene in pressing issues unless he felt he could actively influence those issues. As a president, Coolidge must be considered a failure, his laissez-faire attitude guiding the U.S. through a period of extraordinary prosperity but landing it shortly after he left office on the show more unforeseen shoals of the Great Depression. Donald McCoy's research is meticulous and the book is a very good reading experience, even in light of its subjects determined inactivism. show less

3403. Calvin Coolidge: The Quiet President, by Donald R. McCoy (read 9 Feb 2001) I did not need to read this in relation to my project to read a bio of each President, since I read William Allen White's bio of Coolidge, but that was back on May 5, 1947, so I thought I would read this 1967 work. I had to laugh aloud many times, sometimes with Coolidge and often at him. His life is remarkable--his rise to the Presidency, considering what an odd duck he was, is truly an instance of great luck. I enjoyed this book very much.