Coolidge

By: Amity Shlaes

Narrated by: Terence Aselford

Calvin Coolidge, president from 1923 to 1929, never rated highly in polls, and history has remembered the decade in which he served as an extravagant period predating the Great Depression. Now Amity Shlaes provides a fresh look at the 1920s and its elusive president, showing that the mid-1920s was in fact a triumphant period that established our modern way of life: The nation electrified, Americans drove their first cars, and the federal deficit was replaced with a surplus.

Coolidge is an eye-opening biography of the little-known president behind that era of remarkable growth and national optimism. Coolidge's trademark discipline and composure, Shlaes reveals, represented not weakness but strength, and he proved unafraid to take on the divisive issues of this crucial period: reining in public-sector unions, unrelentingly curtailing spending, and rejecting funding for new interest groups. He reduced the federal budget even as the economy grew, wages rose, taxes fell, and unemployment dropped.

In this magisterial biography, Amity Shlaes captures the remarkable story of Calvin Coolidge and the decade of extraordinary prosperity that grew from his leadership.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2013 Amity Shlaes (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

Easter Egg?

Has anyone else noticed that in Chapter 6 with an Hour and 50 minutes left in the chapter, that there is a reference to the "Cameras of Fox News" rolling? Was this a joke played by the Narrator?

Overall it was great, but one detail was missing.

Why was Coolidge's sleeping 11 Hours a day after his son's death not mentioned? Some historians said that he was not an engaged President after that tragedy.

Cool, cool cool cool....idge

Awesome biography of an under appreciated president. The author has written an exhaustive and intimate volume that depicts a discipline, strong, and relatable President that guided the United States through a time of scandal that shook it to its core and an unprecedented time of economic success. This is a must for any American History buffs.

Interesting listen about a President I knew little about

An interesting biography! Lots of discussion of finances, and lots of cool historical tidbits! The last two chapters are acknowledgments and sources!

Great Presidential Biography

This book seems to bridge the gap between non fiction biography and a narrative. It's full of facts about a Great Man and President, but it feels like you're getting to know the person. highly recommend

I didn't know Coolidge. I'm glad I do now.

President Coolidge is often mentioned as a conservative voice in a progressive time. His speech on the 150th anniversary of the declaration means quite a lot to me, especially the paragraph:

"About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers."


That is a product of a very good mind with a very sound character and it is an enduring voice we should know and keep.

Principaled fiscal conservative leadership.

Fascinating insight. Begins at a slow pace but ends on a very high note. Well written and narration was superb.

An economic wiz of a president

It's a shame most people don't know more about President Coolidge. After listening to this biography, and studying up on Coolidge's policies among other things, it's clear that President Coolidge was an economic wizard. The Roaring 20s were an amazing time for finance after President Wilson's policies nearly destroyed that sector of the U.S. Unfortunately, as President Hoover started spending more money than he should've, and President Roosevelt put government spending into hyperdrive, all of the gains the U.S. made during Coolidge's time, economically-speaking, was practically wiped out. Coolidge is a great study on how to run a government that's built on something solid and sustainable as opposed to what we're experiencing now (and have experienced) for many many years now. And this biography does a great job of laying out Coolidge and who he was as a public figure in politics.

That being said, if you want to know more about Coolidge the man, you'll probably want to look for another biography as there is definitely aspects of who he was that you don't really learn about very extensively. However, I really enjoyed this biography and feel like I know so much more about Coolidge than I ever learned at any other point in history during my years of school. The narrator does a fine job too, though I definitely wouldn't put him in the spectacular category.

We need another Coolidage

Where does Coolidge rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a great biography. One point that was week was how bad the recession was that he inherited from Wilson, it was far worse than what Obama inherited. Yet Harding and Coolidge turned things around to a point that we had the roaring 20's. Then he looked at what Hoover was doing and said - stock market is going to crash, and it did. He was a man of few words, but his actions meant far more.

Great portrayal!

You learn to appreciate this POTUS more and more as you learn the details of his presidency! A man who really cared more for the nation than himself.