Books by Ted Widmer

Martin Van Buren: The American Presidents Series: The 8th President, 1837-1841

by Ted Widmer

The first president born after America's independence ushers in a new era of democracy

Dive deep into the political life of the first president born after America's independence. Martin Van Buren, skillfully crafted by Ted Widmer, a veteran of the Clinton White House, brings to life an era of no-holds-barred democracy. The story unfolds with the rise of Martin Van Buren, characterized as the first 'professional politician,' a man with stark contrast to his rugged and democratic champion predecessor, Andrew Jackson.

From his role as a U.S. senator to secretary of state, and then vice president under Jackson, his path to the Oval Office seems inevitable. Van Buren's presidency, however, is a stark shift from his political victories, marred with conflicts and the undeniable impact of the great banking panic of 1837.

This deep look into one of America's most contentious political eras will offer an enlightening insight into the power of democracy. Whether you're a history enthusiast or a student of political science, this narrative offers an invaluable perspective into our democratic roots.

Ark of the Liberties: America and the World

by Ted Widmer

The United States stands at a historic crossroads; essential to the world yet unappreciated. America’s decline in popularity over the last eight years has been nothing short of astonishing. With wit, brilliance, and deep affection, Ted Widmer, a scholar and a former presidential speechwriter, reminds everyone why this great nation had so far to fall. In a sweeping history of centuries, Ark of the Liberties recounts America’s ambition to be the world’s guarantor of liberty. It is a success story that America, and the world, forgets at its peril.

From the Declaration of Independence to the Gettysburg Address to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United States, for all its shortfalls, has been by far the world’s greatest advocate for freedom. Generations of founders imbued America with a surprisingly global ambition that a series of remarkable presidents, often Democratic, advanced through the confident wielding of military and economic power. Ark of the Liberties brims with new insights: America’s centuries-long favorable relationship with the Middle East; why Wilson’s presidency deserves reappraisal; Bill Clinton’s underappreciated achievements; how America’s long history of foreign policy immediately touches on the choices we face in 2008. Fully addressing America’s disastrous occupation of Iraq, Ark of the Liberties colorfully narrates America’s long and laudatory history of expanding world liberty.

Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington

by Ted Widmer

WINNER OF THE LINCOLN FORUM BOOK PRIZE

“A Lincoln classic...superb.” —The Washington Post

“A book for our time.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin

Lincoln on the Verge tells the dramatic story of America’s greatest president discovering his own strength to save the Republic.

As a divided nation plunges into the deepest crisis in its history, Abraham Lincoln boards a train for Washington and his inauguration—an inauguration Southerners have vowed to prevent. Lincoln on the Verge charts these pivotal thirteen days of travel, as Lincoln discovers his power, speaks directly to the public, and sees his country up close. Drawing on new research, this riveting account reveals the president-elect as a work in progress, showing him on the verge of greatness, as he foils an assassination attempt, forges an unbreakable bond with the American people, and overcomes formidable obstacles in order to take his oath of office.

Lincoln on the Verge Thirteen Days to Washington

by Ted Widmer

WINNER OF THE LINCOLN FORUM BOOK PRIZE

“A Lincoln classic...superb.” ­—The Washington Post

“A book for our time.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin

Lincoln on the Verge tells the dramatic story of America’s greatest president discovering his own strength to save the Republic.

As a divided nation plunges into the deepest crisis in its history, Abraham Lincoln boards a train for Washington and his inauguration—an inauguration Southerners have vowed to prevent. Lincoln on the Verge charts these pivotal thirteen days of travel, as Lincoln discovers his power, speaks directly to the public, and sees his country up close. Drawing on new research, this riveting account reveals the president-elect as a work in progress, showing him on the verge of greatness, as he foils an assassination attempt, forges an unbreakable bond with the American people, and overcomes formidable obstacles in order to take his oath of office.

Listening In: The Secret White House Recordings of John F. Kennedy

by Caroline Kennedy, Ted Widmer

To mark John F. Kennedy's centennial, celebrate the life and legacy of the 35th President of the United States.

In July 1962, in an effort to preserve an accurate record of Presidential decision-making in a highly charged atmosphere of conflicting viewpoints, strategies and tactics, John F. Kennedy installed hidden recording systems in the Oval Office and in the Cabinet Room. The result is a priceless historical archive comprising some 265 hours of taped material. JFK was elected president when Civil Rights tensions were near the boiling point, and Americans feared a nuclear war. Confronted with complex dilemmas necessitating swift and unprecedented action, President Kennedy engaged in intense discussion and debate with his cabinet members and other advisors. Now, in conjunction with the fiftieth anniversary of the Kennedy presidency, the John F. Kennedy Library and historian Ted Widmer have carefully selected the most compelling and important of these remarkable recordings for release, fully restored and re-mastered onto two 75-minute CDs for the first time. Listening In represents a uniquely unscripted, insider account of a president and his cabinet grappling with the day-to-day business of the White House and guiding the nation through a hazardous era of uncertainty.

Accompanied by extensively annotated transcripts of the recordings, and with a foreword by Caroline Kennedy, Listening In delivers the story behind the story in the unguarded words and voices of the decision-makers themselves. Listening In covers watershed events, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Space Race, Vietnam, and the arms race, and offers fascinating glimpses into the intellectual methodology of a circumspect president and his brilliant, eclectic brain trust.

Just as the unique vision of President John F. Kennedy continues to resonate half a century after his stirring speeches and bold policy decisions, the documentary candor of Listening In imparts a vivid, breathtaking immediacy that will significantly expand our understanding of his time in office.

The Living Declaration: A Biography of America's Founding Text

by Ted Widmer

INSIDE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: A historian and former presidential speechwriter traces the origins and legacy of the words and ideas that made America.

Illustrations and close readings of 60 original texts offer new insights on the American Revolution, the Civil War, and other key moments and figures in American history.

We hold these truths to be self-evident . . . all men are created equal . . . with certain inalienable rights . . . life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 250 years after they were written, these words remain at once familiar and startling. What do they mean to us today? Do we understand them in the same way the Founders did? Historian and former presidential speechwriter Ted Widmer seeks to answer these questions by returning to where the nation’s story began, the Declaration of Independence, to trace the remarkable history of how our national charter came to be and how it has shaped the democratic aspirations of Americans and others for more than two centuries.

Weaving together more than sixty fascinating original texts, Widmer finds in the words of succeeding generations of Americans—radicals and conservatives, Civil War combatants and civil rights leaders, presidents and philosophers—the key to understanding the extraordinary durability of America’s founding ideas.

An expert guide, Widmer introduces us to:

• the revolutionary writings that set the stage for the Declaration

• Noah Webster, of dictionary fame, offering a surprising definition of “equality”

• the true story of a fake declaration of independence “discovered” in Mecklenburg, North Carolina, in 1819

• searing challenges to the Declaration’s philosophical claims by Frederick Douglass and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

• radically divergent readings of the Declaration that contributed to the Civil War, and Abraham Lincoln’s vision of a “new birth of freedom”
• the ways in which the Declaration inspired civil rights activists in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries
• how the Declaration inspired democratic aspirations globally.

The voices gathered here are impassioned, and though often at odds, all are united in the belief that the Declaration reveals something crucial about the American people and the quest for human freedom. As we mark the 250th anniversary of our independence, The Living Declaration encourages us to look anew at a vital American text whose history is still unfolding.