Week 6

I am evaluating the book Religion and the American Presidency.  It is a part of The Evolving American Presidency Series.  

The editor of the series is Michael A. Genovese.  He seems so be a very credible source.  He got his Ph.D. from USC in California.  He has written sixteen books, largely about the presidency and democracy.  He holds the Loyola Chair of Leadership Studies, is a Professor of Political Science, and is a Director of the Institute for Leadership Studies as Loyola Marymount University.  He was made a Fellow Commoner at the Queens College, Oxford University in 2006.  has won over a dozen university.  He has been rewarded more than twelve university and national teaching awards.  In 2004-2005 he was the President of the Presidency Research Group of the American Political Science Association, and he often appears as a political commentator on national television.  He has lectured for the United States Embassy and is the Associate Editor of the White House Studies Journal.  Thanks to his experience, he has a very strong ethos.

This book was published in 2007, and therefore leaves out information from the past year and a half.  However, I am examining the presidency of George W. Bush, and this book covers 6 1/2 years of his 8 year span.  The was published after the majority of his time in office, so it will still be a very useful source.  I also don't have to worry about it being outdated, because it was published last year.  It offers a relatively recent and fresh perspective.

Palgrave Macmillan is the publisher, and it is an academic publisher.  This will give me the best information for my topic. It publishes books in the humanities and social sciences.

As an academic title, the book attempts to give a fair overall view of how Bush's faith affects the presidency.  The company seems to strongly support separation of church and state, however, and so may slightly lean away from Bush's faith-influenced politics.  However, the authors of the particular chapter that I am focused on both teach at Georgetown University, which is a catholic-affiliated university, so they might have a slight preference for Bush's faith-based policies.  It is difficult to determine from reading part of the book what its rhetorical stance is, which is probably a good thing, because it is giving a balanced view.

The book was intended to be used or those who would like to become more informed on the topic, rather in a strictly academic sense or for pleasure.  It is written in a way that is easy for those without specialized knowledge in the area to understand.  

This book is very helpful for my paper.  The last chapter is titled "The Faith of George W. Bush: The Personal, Practical, and Political."  I am studying the use of faith in GWB's policy's, so this is great information.  It gives a lot of background information, and mentions the effects his actions and believes have had.  There are some statistics, and quotes, but mostly there are claims made about GWB with proof that led the authors to these conclusions.  It gives information that would allow a person on either side of the issue to formulate an argument.