Private Lives / Public Consequences: Personality and Politics in Modern America

by William Henry Chafe

Hardcover, 2005

Status

Available

Publication

Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2005.

Description

"The decisions a political leader makes can determine the fate of a nation, but what determines how and why that person arrives at certain choices? William H. Chafe, a distinguished historian of twentieth century America, examines some of the most significant political leaders of the modern era in order to explore the relationship between their personal patterns of behavior and their political decision-making process. The result is a look at how personal lives and political fortunes have intersected to shape America over the past fifty years."--Jacket.

User reviews

LibraryThing member derekstaff
An interesting examination of the ways in which the personal, private lives of leaders effects their public lives and leadership.
LibraryThing member PointedPundit
I will admit this book left me confused.

It is not that William H. Chafe failed to articulate his point. Quite the contrary, the history professor and former faculty dean at Duke University communicates his theme clearly and concisely. His premise – that childhood events mold and influence the
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direction, personality and life choices of our national leaders – is an intriguing thought.

It is, however, not history. Historians – and Dr. Chafe is a distinguished one –
spend their hours probing primary sources for clues of how social movements swept up individuals and used them in their dialectic march towards a preordained future. Once done with their research, historians then hide their conclusions in books and articles distinguished by long couplings of footnote-festooned, incomprehensible complex-compound sentences.

That is not this book. There are no primary sources; there are no footnotes. You can read these provocative essays and understand them. The author admits it is a departure from his academic training and practice.

Based on his reading and observations, Dr. Chafe offers his thoughts on how the personal lives and political fortunes of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Hilary and Bill Clinton intersected to shape the United States.

For the moment, I will discount the fact that the author was three years old when Franklin Roosevelt died. This book is a fascinating read. As a professor of modern American history, I have no doubt Dr. Chafee has read many books on his subjects. His observations deserve a thoughtful consideration. It is difficult to document the psychological influences on a life. Nevertheless, Dr. Chafee produces poignant portrayals of vision and paranoia; moral strengths and weakness; sincerity and artificiality.

I admit my Hegelian biases. They grow stronger as I age. Yet, I do not find it a stretch to believe the Muse of history recruits individuals it has equipped with the tools and experiences it required to continue its movement.

History or not, this book will spark a new appreciation of the joys and heartaches of our country’s recent past.

Penned by the Pointed Pundit
October 23, 2006
8:55:02 AM
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Language

Barcode

5459

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