Woodrow Wilson
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Princeton to the Presidency
W. Barksdale Maynard
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Format: PaperPrice: $39.00
e-book
Before Woodrow Wilson became president of the United States, he spent 25 years at Princeton University, first as an undergraduate, then professor, and finally as president. His experiences at the helm of Princeton—where he enjoyed four productive years followed by four years of wrangling and intense acrimony—reveal much about the kind of man he was and how he earned a reputation as a fearless crusader. This engrossing book focuses on how Wilson’s Princeton years influenced the ideas and worldview he later applied in politics. His career in the White House, W. Barksdale Maynard shows, repeated with uncanny precision his Princeton experiences.
The book recounts how Wilson’s inspired period of building, expansion, and intellectual fervor at Princeton deteriorated into one of the most famous academic disputes in American history. His battle to abolish elitist eating clubs and establish a more egalitarian system culminated in his defeat and dismissal, and the ruthlessness of his tactics alienated even longtime friends. So extreme was his behavior, some historians have wondered whether he suffered a stroke. Maynard sheds new light on this question, on Wilson’s temper, and on other aspects of his strengths and shortcomings. The book provides an unprecedented inside view of a hard-fighting president—a man who tried first to remake a university and then to remake the world.
W. Barksdale Maynard is lecturer in the Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University. He lives in Wilmington, DE.
“Barksdale Maynard has done a masterful job of capturing an untold story of one of America’s most interesting, and perhaps, enigmatic, presidents. Woodrow Wilson’s formative years at Princeton University served as a training ground for his tumultuous years in the White House. Woodrow Wilson: Princeton to the Presidency is not only a superb piece of research, it will prove to be a page-turner for those who want greater insight to this complex man.”—James A. Baker, III, 61st U.S. Secretary of State
“Woodrow Wilson's complex personality shaped his tumultuous tenure as president of
“This poignant biography of the man who coined the phrase ‘Princeton in the nation’s service’ shows how much Woodrow Wilson’s experiences at Princeton as a student, professor, and president foreshadowed and molded his tragic career as a national and world leader.”—James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom
“Maynard provides an absorbing account of crucial events in the life of an important American political leader. His book is a significant addition to the literature on Wilson.”—Lewis Gould, University of Texas
“A fast-paced, well-conceived, and well-written biographical treatment of Wilson.”—James Axtell, College of William and Mary
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
40 scattered b/w illus.
