“A much-needed, and satisfyingly comprehensive, reassessment of the Buchanan presidency from a variety of informed perspectives. . . . [A] must-read.”—Civil War Books and Authors
“This fine volume . . . demonstrates that Buchanan’s presidency deserves more consideration.”—North Carolina Historical Review
“The impressive set of contributors . . . explore diverse aspects of Buchanan’s presidency and offer different judgments of his performance.”—American Historical Review
“The breadth of topics and the variability of analytical approaches . . . broaden an understanding of the many channels by which the Civil War came about.”—Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
“An especially rewarding book. . . . The intellectual verve with which the writers dispute Buchanan’s record make those essays especially tempting.”—Journal of American History
“A portrait of the fifteenth president that acknowledges his weaknesses and shortcomings, yet also recognizes that his failures were not universal.”—Civil War Book Review
“It’s not an attempt to contradict the standard portrayal of Buchanan as one of the least effective presidents. . . . But it does try to get people to argue about him a bit more, and reassess what he did well and did badly.”—BBC News
“Buchanan’s management of the secession crisis is at the heart of the book, and its bounty of informed views on his role during this seminal moment in American history is refreshingly diverse. The collection might very well come to be regarded as the most comprehensive and useful reconsideration of the Buchanan presidency.”—Civil War Monitor
