WILLIAM MCKINLEY

Most people know little about President McKinley, other than the fact that he was assassinated. Kevin Phillips persuasively demonstrates that McKinley was a "near-great" president, whose position in history has been unfairly diminished because he could not complete his second term. In particular, Phillips argues that McKinley began to transform the United States into a global military power but that many of his goals, both foreign and domestic, were realized only when his more flamboyant vice president, Teddy Roosevelt, was thrust into the presidency. Despite Phillips's thesis, the book is dull, focusing frequently on tariffs, trade, and monetary policy. Richard Rohan tries valiantly to enliven the material, particularly the sections that relate McKinley's foreign policy successes and his overlooked progressive views. D.J.S.
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 04]