William Howard Taft: A Discussion with Walter Stahr In-Conversation with Jon Grand
Featured Book
Taft
"In his seventy-two years, William Howard Taft lived a great many lives, including as an enterprising young lawyer in the Attorney General's office, admired across the aisle for his fairness and good humor; as a business regulator who, being neither pro-labor nor pro-management, gained a reputation as both a trust-buster and a union-buster; as an anti-colonial colonial administrator and, later, Secretary of War in an age of American territorial expansion; and as an old guard Republican trying to hold his party together against a radical with an alarming cult of personality. As a young man, Taft hadn't even wanted to be president. "I love judges and I love courts," he'd declare. "They are my ideals on earth that typify what we shall meet afterward in Heaven under a just God." A seat on the Supreme Court had always been his dream... but when Theodore Roosevelt decided not to run for reelection in 1908, the Republican Party rallied around the affable yet unassuming bureaucrat who'd become his right-hand man. Taft entered the White House eager to slash tariffs, reduce the national deficit, and improve government efficiency. He would debate sending U.S. troops into Mexico and become embroiled in an environmental scandal over giving Forest Service lands to corporate interests. Yet Teft believed, fundamentally, that it was Congress's job to make the laws, leaving him wary of exceeding his authority. It wasn't until he reached the Supreme Court that he'd leave his real mark on American history, ushering in the most consequential changes to the judicial branch ever by getting the Court the power to select which cases it hears. Exquisitely researched and gracefully written, with a deep understanding of both political history and human nature, William Howard Taft thoughtfully reconsiders a devoted public servant who's fascinating to remember today"--
This book will be available for purchase at the event.
About This Event
We welcome Walter Stahr back to the store to discuss his new book about President William Howard Taft. William Howard Taft was perhaps not a great president, although his limited view of the president’s role looks better today than it did at the time. But Taft’s true claim to greatness lies in his work before and after the White House: five decades of selfless public service culminating as one of the most transformational chief justices in American history. A carefully researched and gracefully written biography, displaying a deep understanding of both political history and human nature, William Howard Taft thoughtfully reassesses what makes a great American public servant worth remembering. He will be in conversation with our very own Jon Grand.
Walter Stahr is the New York Times bestselling author of Seward: Lincoln’s Indispensable Man, Stanton: Lincoln’s War Secretary, and John Jay: Founding Father. A two-time winner of the Seward Award for Excellence in Civil War Biography, Stahr practiced law in Washington and Asia for more than two decades. He is an honors graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School.
Featured Author
Stahr, William
About the Venue
The Book Stall
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