An ordinary man The surprising life and historic presidency of Gerald R. Ford

Historian Smith (On His Own Terms), the former director of the Gerald R. Ford Museum and Library, delivers an exhaustive account of Ford's life and presidency. Painting his subject as someone "who thought for themselves, did his homework," Smith tracks Ford's rise from the only child of an abusive marriage that ended just weeks after his birth in 1913, to standout college football player, freshman congressman from western Michigan, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, replacement for disgraced vice president Spiro Agnew, and president following Richard Nixon's resignation in 1974. Devoting the bulk of the book to Ford's presidency, Smith meticulously details key moments, including the behind-the-scenes maneuvering to secure Nixon's resignation, negotiations over the 1975 Helsinki Accords with the Soviet Union ("Widely denounced at the time... now regarded as an important milestone on the road to European liberation," Smith contends), and the hard-fought battle to secure the 1976 Republican presidential nomination over Ronald Reagan. Though Smith makes a convincing case that Ford's affability and bipartisanship made him the right person to replace Nixon, the narrative sometimes sags under the weight of its voluminous detail. Still, this is a solid and revealing biography of an underestimated president. Agent: Gail Ross, Ross Yoon Agency. (Apr.)

A comprehensive, evenhanded biography of a president who "guided the nation through its worst constitutional crisis since the Civil War." Handed the helm of the floundering national ship at the climax of the Watergate crisis, Gerald Ford (1913-2006) managed to quiet the storm due to his congressional navigation skills and personal rectitude. Known as a loyal Nixon supporter and chosen as the replacement vice president when Spiro Agnew was forced to resign, Ford gradually restored public trust in the presidency despite the shocking and, for many citizens, unforgivable pardon he issued to his predecessor just a month into his term. Smith, who has served as the director of five presidential libraries and has authored bios of Thomas Dewey, Herbert Hoover, and Nelson Rockefeller, provides a useful new appraisal of Ford's life, underscoring how his complicated early family history (largely unknown during his political career) helped shape him into the guileless character he became. Early on, his mother divorced his abusive biological father, and she was enmeshed in legal battles during Ford's adolescence. When she married Gerald Ford Sr., the young man took his name. Ford Jr. eventually married strong-minded divorcée Betty, who became a force in her own right on such issues as women's rights, addiction, and breast cancer. In 1948, Ford ran for Congress largely because he was unable to become a probate judge, "his original ambition." A member of the Warren Commission and House minority leader, he was ready to retire when he was chosen to be vice president. Concluding this massive, somewhat overlong portrait, Smith touts Ford's signing of the Helsinki Accords in 1975, taming of double-digit inflation, policy of economic deregulation, support of Black majority rule in Rhodesia, and "tough love" rescue of an ailing New York City. A fresh appreciation of an underrated, underappreciated president who arrived in the nick of time. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.