Presidential scandals are no recent phenomenon in the history of the United States. Though the headlines that continue to swirl around President Clinton have touched off a storm of controversy around the world, U.S. presidents for the past two hundred years have wrestled with scandal.
Now there is available a concise single--volume survey of presidential scandals in the United States that will help put the current controversy in perspective. The book looks at the behavior and public image of every president from George Washington to Bill Clinton.
Presidential Scandals broadly defines scandal as anything that was regarded as scandalous at the time of the president's service or that was uncovered and regarded as scandalous later. The book includes everything from greed (Teapot Dome and many others) to abuse of power (Watergate and others) to sexual misconduct (Bill Clinton, and others).
Presidential Scandals is an invaluable synthesis of important information that until now has been widely scattered in a host of reference works. Some of the early scandals in the history of the United States may indeed seem tame in light of President Clinton's transgressions, but Jeffrey Schultz helps us gain perspective on the situation - to see that every age has encountered presidential scandal and to realize how surely the United States and the world have survived all these seeming crises in the past.
Presidential Scandals is written in an engaging and lively style, and the information it presents amounts to a useful reminder that despite all the pomp and people surrounding the office, U.S. presidents are no more immune to human frailty - and laws - than anyone else.