Lori Cox Han is Professor of Political Science and Doy B. Henley Chair of American Presidential Studies at Chapman University. Her research and teaching expertise include the presidency, media and politics, women and politics, and political leadership. Diane J. Heith is Professor of Government and Politics at St. John’s University. She is the author of several works on the presidency, public opinion, campaigns and elections, and the media.
Praise for Presidents and the American Presidency, 4th edition “Presidents and the American Presidency is a comprehensive and accessible text for understanding the past, present, and future of the American presidency. Han and Heith capture the uniqueness and complexity of the office and its occupants by including an invaluable historical perspective, interesting archival material, and up-to-date examples that can be used to engage students in thoughtful discussions about the presidency and for assignment ideas. The text strikes a nice balance between covering the origins and changes in the office, the impact of the presidency on policy and the political system, along with an overview about how scholars study the presidency. The inclusion of significant findings from research makes it ideal for teaching the presidency at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.” --Alison Howard, Dominican University “The American presidency is a complex institutional arrangement of the federal bureaucracy with the individual presidents, who serve as both head of government and head of state. The challenge of teaching the American presidency in our contemporary moment is helping students understand the constitutional foundations and how the scope, size, and role of the executive branch has changed over time, including how individual presidents shape change through challenging the status quo, and how the other branches have provided authority for that change. Lori Cox Han and Diane J. Heith have written a comprehensive book that does all of the above – they have structured the book around the central themes of the presidency, while giving valuable insight into constitutional structures, before discussing how the contemporary presidency has changed and why. Written to be accessible for anyone and using numerous real world examples for context, Han and Heith present a comprehensive book on the American presidency to help us understand continuity and change over time, thus make sense of the contemporary presidency regardless of who is president.” -- Kevin Baron, Siena College “Heith and Han offer valuable perspectives for undergraduates as they wrestle with evolving issues in the office of the presidency and the person of the president. Of particular interest to students will be the attention given in each chapter to the use of primary documents and how scholars research the presidency. As I have used earlier editions with students, I have found it not only provides great foundational knowledge, but also sparks meaningful classroom discussion.” -- Donna R. Hoffman, University of Northern Iowa Praise for Presidents and the American Presidency, 4th edition “Presidents and the American Presidency is a comprehensive and accessible text for understanding the past, present, and future of the American presidency. Han and Heith capture the uniqueness and complexity of the office and its occupants by including an invaluable historical perspective, interesting archival material, and up-to-date examples that can be used to engage students in thoughtful discussions about the presidency and for assignment ideas. The text strikes a nice balance between covering the origins and changes in the office, the impact of the presidency on policy and the political system, along with an overview about how scholars study the presidency. The inclusion of significant findings from research makes it ideal for teaching the presidency at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.” --Alison Howard, Dominican University “The American presidency is a complex institutional arrangement of the federal bureaucracy with the individual presidents, who serve as both head of government and head of state. The challenge of teaching the American presidency in our contemporary moment is helping students understand the constitutional foundations and how the scope, size, and role of the executive branch has changed over time, including how individual presidents shape change through challenging the status quo, and how the other branches have provided authority for that change. Lori Cox Han and Diane J. Heith have written a comprehensive book that does all of the above – they have structured the book around the central themes of the presidency, while giving valuable insight into constitutional structures, before discussing how the contemporary presidency has changed and why. Written to be accessible for anyone and using numerous real world examples for context, Han and Heith present a comprehensive book on the American presidency to help us understand continuity and change over time, thus make sense of the contemporary presidency regardless of who is president.” -- Kevin Baron, Siena College “Heith and Han offer valuable perspectives for undergraduates as they wrestle with evolving issues in the office of the presidency and the person of the president. Of particular interest to students will be the attention given in each chapter to the use of primary documents and how scholars research the presidency. As I have used earlier editions with students, I have found it not only provides great foundational knowledge, but also sparks meaningful classroom discussion.” -- Donna R. Hoffman, University of Northern Iowa