Robert V. Remini (1921–2013)

Robert Remini is an expert on internal American politics of the 19th Century, and it shows. I learned a lot about the interesting power struggle between president and Congress, shortly after the creation of the United States and well into the period before the Civil War. But that's it: the pre-US-period and especially the post-World-War 2 period are handled in a really superficial way (there's even nothing on the presidency of J.F. Kenndy!). And then again, the years from 1970 up until 2008 are again treated in detail. In short: an unbalanced book, also by its stress on institutional debates. And then there some pretty nasty comments on indian mentality, on president Jimmy Carter and on the moral permessivity of the sixties and seventies. Definitely not recommended.… (meer)