We the Presidents - by Ronald Gruner (Hardcover)

About the Book

We the Presidents is more than an absorbing read; it is a compelling education on the issues which have shaped the American century up to the present day.

Book Synopsis

How did America get to where it is today?

The disputes over immigration, taxes, trade, war, inflation, and the national debt did not begin with the latest election. Their roots reach back through a century of decisions that changed America and Americans.

We the Presidents follows eighteen presidents, from Warren G. Harding through the beginning of Donald Trump's second term, to reveal the history behind the issues facing Americans today. Why did immigration policy move from the national-origin quotas of the 1920s to the current border debates? How have changes in federal tax policy affected income distribution? What drove the postwar boom, and how did the national debt grow so large? Why has the United States entered major conflicts, from Korea and Vietnam to the Middle East wars, without a formal declaration of war?

Drawing on more than 1,700 citations, award-winning author Ronald Gruner examines what each administration faced, the choices it made, and the consequences that followed. The result is an account, without the usual political labels, of the decisions that shaped today's America. We the Presidents leaves readers to reach their own conclusions.

"Essential reading for every conscientious citizen." - The U.S. Review of Books

Review Quotes

Acclaim for the First Edition

Gruner's book gives readers a balanced history of the American presidents ranging from Warren Harding to Donald Trump.... Readers receive a refreshing view of the ways presidents help Americans explore their own consciences.... Gruner's book should be seen as essential reading for every conscientious citizen... -- U.S. Review of Books

Gruner examines American presidents from 1920 through 2020 through the lens of his own experience as the CEO of three technology companies. Unlike many presidential biographies, his narrative downplays politics and ideology and instead focuses mainly on quantitative economics.... This book, written in response to "zero-sum" partisanship and ideological polarization...aims to provide a balanced historical perspective. -- Kirkus Reviews

A number of historical books cover American Presidents, but none is as singularly focused as Ronald Gruner's new book, We The Presidents. Mr. Gruner's experience as an accomplished executive and founder of several technology companies has resulted in a much different perspective of presidential history. His focus on one hundred years of U.S. presidential history is shown primarily through an economic lens. Beginning with Warren Harding in 1921 and ending with Donald Trump in 2021, Mr. Gruner's book, rather than examining a single presidential administration in isolation, establishes the many connections linking presidential administrations. -- The Connector

Gruner's approach, undertaken in a confident, understated tone, consistently throws light on both the personalities and policies of the men in the Oval Office, and the men and women in their orbits. The shifting from historical specifics to wider-angle insights - and challenges - for the reader is expertly done throughout.... It's no mean feat to craft a U.S. Presidents book that feels so refreshingly different from all the others, and somehow Ronald Gruner has done it. -- Open Letters

We the Presidents is a non-traditional presidential history. Imagine a presidential history spanning Warren G. Harding to Donald Trump that never mentions Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative. Instead Gruner discusses how the issues which affect Americans today from income inequality, to failed wars, to resurgent nativism and many other current issues have their roots in the actions taken by presidential administrations over the past century. -- Booklife

In We The Presidents author Ronald Gruner has comprehensively written about more than a dozen American presidents, covering every significant aspect of their presidency and the impact they had in the United States and the world at large.... Ronald Gruner is objective. The author is rational and non-biased. His reasoning is clear.... Without focusing on political parties the author gives readers a non-biased but intriguing overview of American history. -- Literary Titan