Silent Cal is usually lumped with Harding and Hoover as the low-ranked gap between activists Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt. But there's more to him than meets the eye. He was the first US President to make extensive use of the broadcast medium - in this case, radio - to reach out to the American public as a whole. Following Harding, Coolidge increased the use of the burgeoning advertising industry to manage his public image. His approach to governing - lowering taxes, cutting spending, deregulating business - foreshadowed Reagan, and was occasionally cited by Reagan as an inspiration.

Coolidge governed during one of the strongest boom times, the Roaring Twenties, and left office just a few months before the crash of '29 and the start of the Great Depression. Looking back from the other side of those bad times, it's clear that things were about to go so wrong. But as Greenberg points out, seeing Coolidge only from that perspective gives a skewed picture of the man. A fuller picture, says Greenberg, is one of a man bridging the gap between 19th century values and 20th century culture.

Recommended. This is a pretty good entry in the American Presidents series. ( )

As a biography, this was easy to read and seems complete (this is my first biography of Calvin Coolidge). One thing that struck me was that I got the sense Mr. Greenberg was tamping or doing his best to stifle his political beliefs to write this book. I don't doubt the information he presents is accurate, but I believe it may be tinted to downplay any positives President Coolidge achieved. ( )

This is a rather straightforward biography of our 30th President. The author does not seem to be very enthusiastic about his subject or his policies.
The book is a reasonable introduction to the presidential term of Calvin Coolidge however. ( )