The Postmodern Presidency: Bill Clinton's Legacy in U.S. Politics. Edited by Steven E. Schier. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000. 304p. $45.00.

Extract

Steven E. Schier's latest book, The Postmodern Presidency: Bill Clinton's Legacy in U.S. Politics, provides a much-needed assessment of the Clinton presidency. Throughout the eight years of the Clinton administration, surprisingly few scholarly books were written that either assessed presidential performance or examined the political implications of the Clinton presidency. The few books that did emerge from the Clinton era focus on impeachment and on Mrs. Clinton, most in a less than scholarly way. Steven Schier has begun to fill this scholarly void by putting together an edited volume that examines both performance and political repercussions of the Clinton presidency. This volume of 12 articles offers perspectives on the domestic, international, and economic policies of the administration. The contributors are all well-known scholars in presidential research and all have written significantly within their fields (i.e., domestic policy, international relations, electoral politics, etc.). Schier's choice of contributors is excellent and ensures substantial command of the subject matter within the chapters.