Topic: Arthur Schlesinger

Playing the IRS card: Six presidents who used the IRS to bash political foes

Since the advent of the federal income tax about a century ago, several presidents – or their zealous underlings – have directed the IRS to use its formidable police powers to harass or punish enemies, political rivals, and administration critics. Here are six infamous episodes.

Robert Remini dies, leaves legacy as Andrew Jackson scholar

Robert Remini dies: The Andrew Jackson scholar wrote at least 10 books about the former president. Robert Remini also wrote books about Mormon leader Joseph Smith and President John Quincy Adams.

Coolidge

Amity Shlaes offers a fresh perspective on the 1920s and "Silent Cal," but infuses her narrative with ideology.

Opinion: It's almost Nov. 6. Do you know what books Obama and Romney have been reading?

John F. Kennedy, Harry S. Truman, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson – many of America's presidents were avid readers, and that informed their decisions. It gave them critical perspective. Americans should be curious about the reading habits of President Obama and Mitt Romney.

The Passage of Power

In Volume IV of “The Years of Lyndon Johnson,” biographer Robert A. Caro concentrates on the succession of political triumphs and defeats that accompanied LBJ to the Oval Office.

Obama immigration order: Does 'audacity of hope' mean unchecked presidential power?

President Obama’s order deferring deportation of up to 800,000 young illegal immigrants shows a president dealing with a recalcitrant Congress by ignoring it. Is he reshaping the power of the presidency?

10 snapshots of New York from celebrated diaries

From 'New York Diaries' edited by Teresa Carpenter, 10 stories of New York City through the centuries.

Pity the Billionaire: The Hard-Times Swindle and the Unlikely Comeback of the Right

How we got to this grim pass in our political and economic system

Jackie Kennedy book: glimpses of White House intimacy, and happiness

Some of the real gems in the book based on interviews Jackie Kennedy gave deal less with famous people and more with the quirks of domestic life at the White House.

Opinion: Listening to the other voice in the Jackie Kennedy interviews

The voice of Jackie Kennedy's interviewer belongs to the late historian and former JFK aide Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., whose writings are again timely in this tea-party era. He noted that the Founding Fathers embraced government as a vital help, not an obstacle, to progress.

Jackie Kennedy had her own thoughts about US and world leaders

Jackie Kennedy was interviewed by historian Arthur Schlesinger in the year after her husband's assassination. A book due out Wednesday details Jackie Kennedy's impressions about important people of the era.

Jackie Kennedy interviews are full of surprises

Jackie Kennedy interviews and transcript to be released

Sealed since 1964, eight and a half hours of interviews with Jackie Kennedy are set to be released in September – and are rumored to be full of surprises.

White House situation room, 'nerve center' of bin Laden raid, turns 50

The White House situation room is now associated with one of President Obama's successes, but it owes its existence to JFK's great blunder.

The Icarus Syndrome

How hubris – in various shapes and forms – played a role in America’s decision to go to war in Iraq.

Lyndon B. Johnson

This biography of LBJ is the latest in the well-received American Presidents Series.

Three speeches that defined the 'Lion of the Senate'

Sen. Edward Kennedy had his share of verbal gaffes – some of them costly – but he will also be remembered as an impassioned orator.

The Age of Roosevelt

Opinion: A president, not a savior

Why do we look to the White House for all the answers?

Readers' picks

Readers tell us what they are reading.

Into It: Stuart Woods

The bestselling suspense novelist reveals what he's reading, watching, and listening to – and why screenwriters ought to see 'Michael Clayton.'