Coolidge

Coolidge is the acclaimed biography by bestselling author and historian Amity Shlaes that rehabilitates the reputation of America’s 30th president, Calvin Coolidge. Long dismissed or overlooked by historians, Coolidge emerges in Shlaes’ telling as a principled, thoughtful leader whose commitment to limited government, fiscal responsibility, and individual liberty produced one of the most prosperous decades in American history.

Shlaes traces Coolidge’s life from his upbringing in rural Vermont through his rise in Massachusetts politics to the presidency, where he cut taxes, reduced the national debt, and presided over the roaring economy of the 1920s. The biography reveals Coolidge as a man of deep conviction who believed that the best government was one that governed least, and who practiced what he preached by vetoing spending bills and resisting the expansion of federal power.

This paperback edition of the New York Times bestseller is essential reading for anyone interested in American political history and the conservative tradition of limited government. Shlaes’ meticulous research and engaging narrative style make a compelling case that Coolidge’s philosophy of governance deserves renewed attention in an era of ever-expanding government.