Home - Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Perspectives on the Legacy of George W. Bush
Editor: Michael Orlov Grossman and Ronald Eric Matthews Jr.
Date Of Publication: Jan 2009
Isbn13: 978-1-4438-0134-8
Isbn: 1-4438-0134-8
Opinions of the Presidency of George W. Bush and his perceived legacy seem to exist only at the extremes. From the contentious outcome of the 2000 election, to the attacks on September 11, to the ongoing War in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the efforts to transform major domestic policies, and culminating with the financial crisis of 2008, it is little wonder that the name George W. Bush tends not to evoke lukewarm opinion. During his time in office, Bush obtained the highest approval ratings of any sitting president, but also the lowest. Scholars and other observers of the Bush Presidency have been similarly divided.

Across the board, the presidency of George W. Bush raises questions that invite challenges to political scientists, scholarly questions of significant general interest. The authors in this volume begin the process of addressing some of these questions, with essays that cover an array of issues related to his presidency, and the legacy it leaves. This collection of essays presented at the Mount Union College Symposium on the Legacy of George W. Bush, seeks to provide some balance, offering some initial assessments of the consequences of this controversial president and his eventful tenure in office.

Michael Orlov Grossman is an Assistant Professor at Mount Union College. He received his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. He has published and presented papers on the politics and foreign policy of the former Soviet Union and US foreign policy. He is the current Director of the International Studies Program at Mount Union College.

Ronald Eric Matthews, Jr serves as the Director of the Ralph and Mary Regula Center for Public Service and Assistant Professor of Political Science at Mount Union. A graduate of Kent State University, Dr. Matthews has a keen interest in social policy issues as seen through the lens of Protestant evangelicalism. The CPS works to advance public service/public administration issues at the undergraduate level.

"While controversy is nothing new to any presidential administration, the political intensity associated that has come to describe the tumultuous years of the presidency of George W. Bush is captured effectively by Grossman and Matthews in this newly edited book. Perspectives on the Legacy of George W. Bush supplies political scientists with a comprehensive yet sobering account of the many facets of political leadership and foreign and domestic policies of former President George W Bush's administration. Accomplishing what few edited volumes on executive politics actually set to achieve, Grossman and Matthews succeed in piecing together a complex series of chapters unified by the common themes of presidential legacy and interpretation. The analysis begins with an examination of Bush’s public and personal leadership style and abilities as a rhetorical leader. It then moves on to provide an illuminating vantage point into how Bush sought to aggrandize executive authority by expanding war making powers, unilateral decision-making, and presidential prerogative. The highly controversial and hotly debated issues of Social Security reform, the coalescence of the evangelical right into the Republican Party, the rise of American global hegemony, and the legacy of the Bush Doctrine in foreign policy comprise the second half of this contribution. Perspectives on the Legacy of George W. Bush will be required reading for any student or scholar of the American presidency wishing to understand one of the most controversial presidential administrations in recent years since World War II."

—Chris Dolan, Lebanon Valley College, Annville, Pennsylvania

“This book provides a fascinating and balanced review of the leadership style and legacy of the 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush. It addresses both the complexities of the Bush era and the challenges that face the modern presidency as an institution seeking to leave its mark on domestic and foreign policy.

This book captures the spirit of the Bush presidency. Chapters present thoughtful interpretations of themes ranging from presidential personality and the role of religion in politics to the controversial No Child Left Behind program and prosecution of the War on Terror. In summary, this compelling new book contributes to our understanding of the legacy of George W. Bush at a critical time in the nation’s history.”

— Jeffrey S. Lantis, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science and Chair, International Relations Program, The College of Wooster

Price Uk Gbp: 34.99
Price Us Usd: 52.99

Sample pdf (including Table of Contents)

We recommend

Language and Literature
Middle-earth and Beyond: Essays on the World of J. R. R. Tolkien

History
Arctic Discourses

Education
The Supportive School: Wellbeing and the Young Adolescent

Interesting reviews

From Navigating Music and Sound Education

“We rarely have the opportunity and time to engage with the practicalities of music teaching through the lens of evidence-based practice. This book provides us with a wonderful exception that is accessible to beginning and established teachers. It contains a wide range of stimulating and thought-provoking material that draws on real-world experiences and events, which are contextualised, informed and structured by theory. This is a powerful combination that we can visit again and again for insight and inspiration. Congratulations to all involved, particularly the editors for shaping such a valuable contribution!”
—Professor Graham F. Welch, University of London; President, International Society of Music Education

“Navigating music and sound education draws together a range of issues increasingly acknowledged to be at the basis of reflective and effective music learning and teaching: social settings, cultural dimensions, gender, indigeneity, varying cognitive approaches, inter-disciplinary connections, technology, types of learning, and creativity. It opens up areas of pedagogy that go beyond classroom methodology to acknowledge student individuality and encourage music learning and teaching grounded in the reality of students’ musical and social lives. It will be invaluable for those training to become educators and for teachers already in the field.”
—Associate Professor Peter Dunbar-Hall, University of Sydney

“This book brings an important contribution to music teacher education as it challenges the readers to rethink their paradigms of music education. It highlights the importance of preparing a reflective teacher, autonomous, creative and conscious of the multifaceted and multicultural locus in which they will work. The book also draws on the importance for music teachers to consider the context in which they work, and establish a dialog between local musical traditions, informal music practices and global trends of music teaching and learning. Most importantly, all chapters are in one way or another derived from research carried out on specific areas, thus stressing the importance of the research informed practice in music education.”
—Professor Liane Hentschke, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; International Society of Music Education Immediate Past President

Many readers will appreciate Steve Dillon and Kathy Hirche’s description of the future of education in their work with dynamic technological contexts.

Navigating Music and Sound Education is a wonderful guide and resource for pre-service music teachers, for teachers in the field, and for teacher educators.

It offers a range of fresh perspectives on the state of music education as it is and as it might be. Kari K Veblen

Navigating Music and Sound Education is an ambitious project which features current research from 20 individuals whose professional identities run the gamut from musician to songwriter to student to educator to music therapist to ethnomusicologist. The book’s scope is perhaps the most exciting aspect of Navigating Music and Sound Education.
Kari K Veblen
University of Western Ontario
British Journal of Music Education
October 2011