The book selected for review is; Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty by Ivan Eland. The author ranks all the American presidents based on their unique charisma and special oratory skills. However, the rankings shifted after positioning them based on their ability to defend the Constitution. The author opines that presidential ranking must be based on their adherence to the constitution they swore to defend when taking the oath of office.
The general topic of the book is the evaluation of all American presidents to determine the best and the worst. The initial ranking was based on unique talents such as oratory skills. Abraham Lincoln was ranked among the best presidents. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were rated poorly based on oratory skills but became among the top after using constitutional diligence. The intended audience for the book is lawyers and journalists who often judge the presidents’ actions. The book’s purpose is to underscore the need to use the Constitution when evaluating people who hold public office.
Ivan Eland is a senior official at the Center of Peace and liberty and has the required credentials to investigate policies supporting peace and liberty. The essential claim is that the president’s office must be judged on constitutional diligence, which is quintessential in promoting the citizen’s well-being. The author concludes that ranking presidents based on personality traits do not offer accurate inferences about presidents’ greatness or weakness. The evidence employed is when presidents made unpopular decisions, but since they were aligned with the Constitution, they produced better results. President Jefferson, for example, slashed the army budget and imposed a tax on whiskey but reduced debt by a third (Eland, 2009). The contradiction in the book is the role of the presidents’ characters in the ranking process.
The author’s goal has been achieved because he proved that presidential ranks must be based on constitutional adherence to providing peace, liberty, and stability. The book is convincing because the evidence is accurate and shows the president’s key role in serving the citizens regardless of their traits. The strength of the book is the solid evidence used. However, the weakness depicted is the inability to determine how the president’s traits affect their ability to adhere to the Constitution. The book is highly recommended, especially for historians, lawyers, and governance experts, to understand the key performance indicators when evaluating public officeholders.
Reference
Eland, I. (2009). Recarving Rushmore: ranking the presidents on peace, prosperity, and liberty. Independent Institute