List $29.95

Written by Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr., Philip B. Kunhardt, III, and Peter W. Kunhardt - Abridged Nonfiction - Abridgment approved by Richard Newstadt & Larry Kenney - 5 COMPACT DISCS - 6 hours

Publisher, Harper Audio (November 1999)

The first book in thirty years to examine all the presidents, The American President is also an overarching look at our nation's highest office. Working closely with a distinguished group of scholars, and through interviews with our living presidents, the Kunhardts have organized their book thematically rather than chronologically, allowing for a fresh understanding of the presidency: its nature, its history, its evolution. This approach renders fascinating juxtapositions that shed new light on familiar figures: Thomas Jefferson with Ronald Reagan; John Adams with Jimmy Carter; James Madison with Bill Clinton.

In the spring of 2000, PBS, with major support from New York Life, will launch a ten-hour television series based on The American President. The series, narrated by veteran Time magazine White House correspondent Hugh Sidey, will feature the voices of General Norman Schwarzkopf, James Carville, John Glenn, William F. Buckley, George Will, and Don Imus, among others.

This remarkable book, along with the extraordinary television event, will provide a new understanding of the legacy and impact of our most important American institution.

"Our goal is to help readers see the presidency afresh, and to think about its incumbents in a new way. By looking at the variety of individuals who have held the high office and by contrasting their situations and their major choices in the presidency, we tell an extremely human story, as well as an unfolding history of a vital American institution." --Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr., Philip B. Kunhardt III, and Peter W. Kunhardt

About the authors:
Peter W. Kunhardt has been producing documentaries for the past twenty years and is a three-time Emmy winner. His brother, Philip B. Kunhardt III, coauthored and produced Lincoln : An Illustrated Biography, among other projects. Their father, Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr., is a former managing editor of LIFE magazine and the author of numerous books, including the Christopher Award-winning memoir My Father's House.