Bøger af Ted Widmer

I juli 1962 fik præsident John F. Kennedy installeret et skjult optagesystem i Det Ovale Kontor og Kabinetsværelset i Det Hvide Hus. Hans motiver kender vi ikke, men han kan bl.a. have haft et ønske om at sikre sig dokumentation for sine præsidentielle beslutninger i en tid præget af modstrid­ende synspunkt­er, strategier og taktikker.Resultatet er et uvurderligt historisk materiale, der omfatter 256 timers optagelser. JFK blev præsident i USA på et tidspunkt, hvor kravet om borgerrettigheder nåede kogepunktet, og man frygtede en atomkrig. Stillet over for komplekse, nye problemstillinger, der krævede hurtig handling, holdt præsidenten intense samtaler og diskussioner med sine ministre og andre rådgivere.I Medhør har John F. Kennedy Presidential Library og hist­o­­rikeren Ted Widmer udvalgt de vigtigste og mest in­te­ressante blandt disse bemærkelsesværdige optagelser. Bogen giver et enestående indblik i, hvordan præsidenten styrede nationen gennem en usikker og faretruende tid.

';Widmer brings off his panoramic, almost mystical interpretation with riveting panache. His book is not only a historical achievement but a literary one.' The Wall Street Journal ';A Lincoln classic...superb....So much has been written about Abraham Lincoln that it's rare when a historian discovers an episode in his life that, if fully developed and interpreted, yields important new insights. Ted Widmer has done just that...' The Washington Post As a divided nation plunges into the deepest crisis in its history, Abraham Lincoln boards a train for Washington and his inaugurationan inauguration Southerners have vowed to prevent by any means necessary. Drawing on new research, this account reveals the President-Elect as a work in progress, showing him on the verge of greatness, foiling an assassination attempt, and forging an unbreakable bond with the American people. On the eve of his 52nd birthday, February 11, 1861, the President-Elect of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, walked onto a train, the first step of his journey to the White House, and his rendezvous with destiny. But as the train began to carry Lincoln toward Washington, it was far from certain what he would find there. Bankrupt and rudderless, the government was on the verge of collapse. To make matters worse, reliable intelligence confirmed a conspiracy to assassinate him as he passed through Baltimore. It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of the Republic hung in the balance. How did Lincoln survive this grueling odyssey, to become the president we know from the history books? Lincoln on the Verge tells the story of a leader discovering his own strength, improvising brilliantly, and seeing his country up close during these pivotal thirteen days. From the moment the Presidential Special left the station, a new Lincoln was on display, speaking constantly, from a moving train, to save the Republic. The journey would draw on all of Lincoln's mental and physical reserves. But the President-Elect discovered an inner strength, which deepened with the exhausting ordeal of meeting millions of Americans. Lincoln on the Verge tells the story of America's greatest president and the obstacles he overcame, well before he could take the oath of office and deliver his inaugural address.

In a sweeping history of centuries, Ted Widmer's Ark of the Liberties recounts America's ambition to be the world's guarantor of liberty. The United States stands at a historic crossroads; essential to the world yet unappreciated. America's decline in popularity over the decades 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. 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. Fully addressing America's disastrous occupation of Iraq, Ark of the Liberties colorfully narrates America's long and laudatory history of expanding world liberty.

I juli 1962 fik præsident Kennedy i al hemmelighed installeret et skjult system til lydoptagelse i Det Ovale Kontor og kabinetsværelset. Hans motiver til det kender vi ikke nøjagtigt, men har bl.a. været et ønske om at sikre sig dokumentation for de beslutninger, der blev truffet på præsidentielt niveau i en tid præget af modstridende synspunkter, strategier og taktikker.Resultatet er et uvurderligt historisk materiale omfattende 256 timers lydoptagelser. JFK blev præsident på et tidspunkt, hvor kravet om borgerrettigheder var ved at nå kogepunktet, og amerikanerne frygtede en atomkrig. Stillet over for komplekse og ofte helt nye problemstillinger, der krævede hurtig handling, engagerede præsident Kennedy sig i intense samtaler og diskussioner med sine ministre og andre rådgivere.I Medhør har John F. Kennedy Presidential Library og historikeren Ted Widmer udvalgt de vigtigste og mest interessante blandt disse bemærkelsesværdige optagelser. Bogen giver et enestående og umiddelbart indblik i, hvordan præsidenten og hans rådgivere arbejdede med de dagligdags opgaver og styrede nationen gennem en usikker og faretruende tid.