
The Unexpected President
The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur
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Narrated by:
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Paul Heitsch
About this listen
Despite his promising start as a young man, by his early 50s Chester A. Arthur was known as the crooked crony of New York machine boss Roscoe Conkling. For years Arthur had been perceived as unfit to govern, not only by critics and the vast majority of his fellow citizens but by his own conscience. As President James A. Garfield struggled for his life, Arthur knew better than his detractors that he failed to meet the high standard a president must uphold.
And yet, from the moment President Arthur took office, he proved to be not just honest but brave, going up against the very forces that had controlled him for decades. He surprised everyone - and gained many enemies - when he swept house and took on corruption, civil rights for Blacks, and issues of land for Native Americans.
A mysterious young woman deserves much of the credit for Arthur's remarkable transformation. Julia Sand, a bedridden New Yorker, wrote Arthur nearly two dozen letters urging him to put country over party, to find "the spark of true nobility" that lay within him. At a time when women were barred from political life, Sand's letters inspired Arthur to transcend his checkered past - and changed the course of American history.
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Marvelous, Magnificent, Millard
- By Mel on 02-08-12
By: Candice Millard
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Grover Cleveland
- By: Henry F. Graff
- Narrated by: Ira Claffey
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Though often overlooked, Grover Cleveland was a significant figure in American presidential history. Having run for President three times and gaining the popular vote majority each time, Cleveland was unique in the line of nineteenth-century Chief Executives. Presidential historian Henry F. Graff revives Cleveland's fame, explaining how he fought to restore stature to the office in the wake of several weak administrations.
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Unexceptional Book about unexceptional President
- By jake_gibbs on 07-06-22
By: Henry F. Graff
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President McKinley
- Architect of the American Century
- By: Robert W. Merry
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Republican President William McKinley transformed America during his two terms as president. Although he does not register large in either public memory or in historians' rankings, in this revealing account, Robert W. Merry offers "a fresh twist on the old tale . . . a valuable education on where America has been and, possibly, where it is going" (The National Review).
By: Robert W. Merry
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Mr. Jefferson's Hammer
- William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy
- By: Robert M. Owens
- Narrated by: Doug McDonald
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Often remembered as the president who died shortly after taking office, William Henry Harrison remains misunderstood by most Americans. Before becoming the ninth president of the United States in 1841, Harrison was instrumental in shaping the early years of westward expansion. Robert M. Owens now explores that era through the lens of Harrison’s career, providing a new synthesis of his role in the political development of Indiana Territory and in shaping Indian policy in the Old Northwest.
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Title = Truth in Advertising
- By William Jenks on 06-18-19
By: Robert M. Owens
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A Country of Vast Designs
- James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent
- By: Robert W. Merry
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 18 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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When James K. Polk was elected president in 1844, the United States was locked in a bitter diplomatic struggle with Britain over the rich lands of the Oregon Territory, which included what is now Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Texas, not yet part of the Union, was threatened by a more powerful Mexico. And the territories north and west of Texas---what would become California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and part of Colorado---belonged to Mexico.
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A Decent Overview of Polk's Presidency
- By James on 06-20-10
By: Robert W. Merry
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Destiny and Power
- The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 25 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on President Bush’s personal diaries, on the diaries of his wife, Barbara, and on extraordinary access to the 41st president and his family, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham paints an intimate and surprising portrait of an intensely private man who led the nation through tumultuous times.
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Fair and insightful
- By Jean on 12-02-15
By: Jon Meacham
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Martin Van Buren
- America's First Politician
- By: James M. Bradley
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 26 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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This new biography of Van Buren—the first full-scale portrait in four decades—charts his ascent from a tavern in the Hudson Valley to the presidency, concluding with his late-career involvement in an antislavery movement. Offering vivid profiles of the day's leading figures (Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, John Quincy Adams, DeWitt Clinton, James K. Polk), James Bradley's book depicts the struggle for power in the tumultuous decades leading up to the Civil War.
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Still don’t know the man
- By Paul D. Stancil on 04-19-25
By: James M. Bradley
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The Bully Pulpit
- Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism
- By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 36 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Goodwin describes the broken friendship between Teddy Roosevelt and his chosen successor, William Howard Taft. With the help of the "muckraking" press, Roosevelt had wielded the Bully Pulpit to challenge and triumph over abusive monopolies, political bosses, and corrupting money brokers. Roosevelt led a revolution that he bequeathed to Taft only to see it compromised as Taft surrendered to money men and big business. The rupture led Roosevelt to run against Taft for president, an ultimately futile race that gave power away to the Democrats.
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Makes You Forget You Live in the 21st Century Good
- By Cynthia on 01-11-14
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Rutherford B. Hayes
- By: Michael A. Ross
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 28 mins
- Unabridged
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President Rutherford B. Hayes, the first Gilded Age president, began his career as an antislavery Union soldier. Yet the Compromise of 1877, which led to his prevailing in the wake of the hotly contested Hayes-Tilden election, caused Hayes to abandon Reconstruction and turn his attention to economic priorities such as using federal troops to subdue railroad strikes.
By: Michael A. Ross
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The President and the Assassin
- McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century
- By: Scott Miller
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1901, as America tallied its gains from a period of unprecedented imperial expansion, an assassin's bullet shattered the nation's confidence. The shocking murder of President William McKinley threw into stark relief the emerging new world order of what would come to be known as the American Century.
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An Ideal History Book for the Audio Format
- By Nelson Alexander on 09-30-11
By: Scott Miller
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Eisenhower in War and Peace
- By: Jean Edward Smith
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 28 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Author of the best-seller FDR, Jean Edward Smith is a master of the presidential biography. Setting his sights on Dwight D. Eisenhower, Smith delivers a rich account of Eisenhower’s life using previously untapped primary sources. From the military service in WWII that launched his career to the shrewd political decisions that kept America out of wars with the Soviet Union and China, Smith reveals a man who never faltered in his dedication to serving America, whether in times of war or peace.
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Good, although biased, biography
- By Mike From Mesa on 10-15-12
What listeners say about The Unexpected President
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- Anonymous User
- 04-28-19
good read better if read to you. but thing mor as
history. and. and amdand and washe a good man you guess afer i have an opinion
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- Boll Weevils
- 12-29-22
An enjoyable but limited book.
Would have liked to have seen more about Arthur’s personality and his presidential policies. The vast majority of this book takes place before he was president and takes interesting detours into other personalities of the time, particularly Senator Roscoe Conkling. Arthur was in the middle of the line of undistinguished and forgettable post – Civil War presidents.
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- Chet Caskey
- 03-11-24
Highly recommended.
A good account of not only Chester Arthur, but of multiple important figures of this troubled era - that in many respects foreshadowed the present.
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- Grotshops
- 02-05-21
An unexpected pleasure
I enthusiastically recommend this well-researched book that tells the story of one of our less celebrated presidents, Chester A. Arthur. Anyone interested in 19th century America, and especially its political history, would enjoy this well-told story. At many points, the parallels between the political climate we now experience and that of the 1870s-1880s are hard to miss. The author’s even-handed treatment of the various political actors adds credibility to the narrative. The narration is also excellent.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Ted
- 04-26-23
Surprisingly very good book.
I say this because, I we never studied him in Schools. His story should be told to Americans.
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- Ed
- 11-18-23
Beyond Expectations
Based on my knowledge of that corrupt era and the political machines running our governments, I held a dim view of Chester Arthur. So, I took a flier on this book and came away enjoying this book and forming a newfound respect for Chester Arthur.
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- Jeffrey
- 10-16-19
Must read!!!oops listen!!!!
I really learned a lot of new information about Chester Arthur. There was a magical feel to it
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2 people found this helpful
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- Wayne J. Street Jr.
- 01-01-19
An Unexpected Treat!!!
This was a wonderful story. My friend said that I am officially a "leading authority on Chester A. Arthur." It was organized, with accurate and complete research.
The author did a nice job of presenting all of the facts and then going deeper than what is most commonly talked about with Arthur, from the Party Boss and "yes man," for Conkling.
It is also a great story of redemption about how Arthur begins to change as the President and considers his legacy and goes above and beyond his own vanity and his own interests.
This is a book that I highly recommend for any person who loves history and loves our presidents.
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- Jared Wilkinson
- 07-26-23
Underrated President
A fantastic and timely story as well as an enlightening piece of US history. The author had me invested in the narrative as well as gripped by the history. Fascinating info not just on Arthur, but on Garfield, Grant, and Hayes as well. Highly recommend for history buffs.
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- George
- 07-26-23
Unexpectedly good!
A president who rose to the occasion with the help of a disabled pen-pal
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