Título: Mr. President
Autor: Ray Raphael
Sinopse: The little-known story of the dramatic political maneuverings and personalities behind the creation of the office of the president, with ramifications that continue to this day. On June 1, 1787, when the Federal Convention first talked of establishing a new executive branch, James Wilson moved that the Executive consist of a single person. To us this might sound obvious, but not so at the time. Americans had just won their independence from an autocratic monarch, and they feared that a single leader might commandeer power or oppress citizens. Should the framers even flirt with one-man rule? For the first and only time that summer, there was silence. Not one of the loquacious delegates dared speak up. Eventually Benjamin Franklin rose, then others. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Mason joined the debate, and for three months their deliberations continued. By early September the framers had made up their minds. A chief executive, the president, would be appointed by Congress to serve for seven years. He could not be reelected, and his powers were tightly constrained. He could neither negotiate treaties nor appoint Supreme Court justices and ambassadors. The Senate would do all that. Suddenly, less than two weeks before the convention adjourned, all this changed. How? And who made it happen? Enter Gouverneur Morris, the flamboyant, peg-legged hero of this saga, who pushed through his agenda with amazing political savvy and not a little bluster and deceit. For the first time, by focusing closely on the give-and-take of the conventions dynamics, Ray Raphael reveals how politics and personalities cobbled together a lasting, but flawed, institution. Charting the presidency as it evolved during the administrations of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson, Raphael shows how, given the Constitutions broad outlines, the presidents powers could easily be augmented but rarely diminished. Today we see the resultan office that has become more sweeping, more powerful, and more inherently partisan than the framers ever intended. And the issues of 1787whether the Electoral College, the presidents war powers, or the extent of executive authoritycontinue to stir our political debates.
Contexto da obra
Quando a classificação é mais ampla, o contexto do livro costuma depender ainda mais de autoria, tema e edição. “Mr. President”, de Ray Raphael, publicado pela editora Vintage, em 2012 e com 336 páginas, integra a categoria Livros Variados. Por isso, autoria, edição e tema acabam tendo ainda mais peso na forma de apresentar o livro.
Editora: Vintage
Páginas: 336
Ano: 2012
Edição:
Linguagem: English
ISBN: 0307958566
ISBN13: 9780307958563
Sobre a editora
Os livros da editora Vintage oferecem uma experiência de leitura que mescla narrativas densas e personagens complexos, muitas vezes ambientados em contextos históricos ou sociais marcantes. As sinopses sugerem um catálogo que transita entre o romance contemporâneo com temas de identidade e trauma, thrillers de investigação ambientados em ambientes de elite, e obras que exploram questões políticas e culturais profundas. O tom varia do intimista e reflexivo ao tenso e cheio de reviravoltas, com uma linguagem que pode ser tanto lírica quanto direta, dependendo do foco narrativo. Vintage parece privilegiar histórias que provocam reflexão sobre o indivíduo em seu meio social, com atenção a conflitos internos e externos, e que frequentemente apresentam uma ambientação rica em detalhes, seja em cidades modernas, sociedades históricas ou realidades políticas complexas.
