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Each of these presidents have interesting and forgotten stories to tell, but this is not a biographic anthology. It is an analytical, not an anecdotal, review of their presidencies from the standpoint of the constitutional scholar. Gerhardt undertakes an academic review of each presidency and the accomplishments and failures of each man on a number of subjects which define their constitutional legacies. These include how each saw the division of responsibilities between the executive and legislative branches, how they handled appointments to the federal courts, their use of the veto, exercise of presidential pardon power, federalism and states rights, performance on the international stage and a number of other similar criteria.
For the reader interested in the office of the presidency, the book is an interesting one with some surprising assessments. For example Gerhardt disagrees with the common historical conclusion that the 19th century era following Andrew Johnson (Abraham Lincoln excluded) produced a series of weak presidents. A number of virtually unknown presidents garner high marks from the author for fighting the good fight with congress in a number of important constitutional fields. These include Chester Alan Arthur, William Henry Harrison, Millard Fillmore, Benjamin Harrison and William Howard Taft. Gerhardt is more critical of Franklin Pierce and Jimmy Carter, especially in the latter's lack of vision in entering the office and in alienating congress while attempting to achieve great and noble goals.
The book is extremely well researched. Gerhardt has read extensively and, as every good author should, he has considered an amazing amount of source material, to the point where, when historians differ on a point, Gerhardt boldly states that he has "corrected" their "mistaken assertions." This book is very pedantic and academic in style, with little intimate information on each president other than general commonly known conclusions (e.g. Franklin Pierce entered the presidency very despondent after the recent tragic death of his young son Benny.) One's enjoyment of this book will depend on what aspect of the forgotten presidents most interests the reader. It is not a page turner or a conversation piece, but for the reader with a keen interest in constitutional history, it is an essential read.