The first few chapters of this novel is interesting, but falls off afterwards. The way everything is convoluted can be quite a tedious read; although the book is highly informative. The summation of the historical events is fantastic but require, at least for me, a more entertaining style and/or pace.

Great author's have prepared a wonderful summation of the stories involved in the history of impeachment. In today's current political climate this book should be mandatory reading.

Impeachment is a heavy word that’s on the front pages of our newspapers, sound bite clips featuring members of Congress and the lips of many a cable news show pundits on both the left and right. I would argue that what the country needs right now is a sensible, much more subdued discussion on what impeachment means and how impeachment happens or doesn’t happen in this country.

The four authors of Impeachment (Jon Meacham; Timothy Naftali; Peter Baker; Jeffrey A. Engel) are not men prone to rash, hot headed decision making or accusation without evidence and that’s on display in this book. We get an introductory chapter about impeachment, three chapters about each historical case of impeachment in US History, and a concluding chapter about what applies and doesn’t apply from the preceding three cases to the current situation with President Trump as they knew it at publication time.

Impeachment as a book injects a dose of rationality into the public discussion of impeachment that I have found so often lacking in the United States in 2019.

Given the situation the United States finds itself in the year 2018, it's hard to imagine a more timely book than Impeachment: An American History, from the collective efforts of Jeffrey Engel, Jon Meacham, Timothy Naftali, and Peter Baker, four men who have spent their careers covering, researching, and writing about the US Presidency.

Impeachment gives the reader history of the constitutional remedy all the way back to the Constitutional Convention, and then provides a detailed but accessible overview of the three times in American history that articles of impeachment against a chief executive have been voted upon. The good news is that this most extreme measure has seemingly worked as intended over the course of our history. The bad news, especially in these polarized times, is that the measure works most effectively when a bipartisan effort, unless members of one party or another find the courage to defy their party's wishes.

The sections on each impeachment of a president give a nice overview of the alleged misconduct and a summary of the political machinations that led to a President leaving office (Nixon) or not (Johnson and Clinton). What was especially striking was the familiarity of the words and actions of the partisans in the Nixon and Clinton chapters to what's often heard from partisans both pro and anti the current administration. The book does a good job of touching on potential lessons that could be applied if our country heads down this road again in the near future, while also doing a good job of recognizing that so much is unknown and unwritten that it would be unwise to apply too much too specifically.

Impeachment was a relatively quick read and one that will capture the attention of all who are interested in US history and the presidency. Especially in these fraught times, it can serve as a helpful guide to where we've been as a nation, and where we may be headed.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

IMPEACHMENT: AN AMERICAN HISTORY is the combined work of four authors: Jeffrey A. Engel (who writes about the Constitution and discusses Donald Trump in an Introduction and Conclusion); Jon Meacham (on Andrew Johnson); Timothy Naftali (on Richard Nixon); and Peter Baker (on Bill Clinton). Clearly, these writers are knowledgeable scholars and have created a powerful text, filled with relevant quotes like this one from Gerald Ford (1970): "What is an impeachable offense? An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history." They contrast the circumstances and motivations of the three times when impeachment has been used, arguing that there were strong political motivations in the cases of Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, but more bipartisan support for the clearer case of "high crimes and misdemeanors" involving Richard Nixon's actions. IMPEACHMENT: AN AMERICAN HISTORY received a starred review from Kirkus ("impeccably researched and well-presented").

On a related note, see also Meacham’s recent reflection in The New York Times on George H. W. Bush:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/01/opinion/george-hw-bush-death-jon-meacham.html

Well-written, easy to follow and interesting. Highly recommended if you're into history and politics.

Impeachment is a word that is thrown around a lot in our current political climate, but this book divides up different presidencies between different authors and each argues as to why it should apply for their particular President. This book laid out facts in a non-biased manner and showed how serious Impeachment is and when it should be utilized. A very interesting read!

Impeachment remains the most serious constitutional weapon against the President of the United States. It is rarely seriously considered, and only three presidents have been placed in serious jeopardy of removal from office. In each case, they were spared, though usually politically wounded. Andrew Johnson’s Articles of Impeachment passed the House of Representatives only to flounder in the Senate. Richard Nixon resigned rather than facing his impending removal. And Bill Clinton faced a trial in the Senate that lacked the votes to convict.

These three stories have many similarities. Each president, mostly fueled by their own hubris, at some point felt sure they could survive politically. Similarly, all three times Congress was forced to consider whether a president’s conduct placed himself dangerously above the country. However, each has severe differences, and therein lies the special craft of this book. Three separate scholars tackle each of the presidents in extended essays, examining impeachment proceedings and their immediate impacts.

Biographer Jon Meacham has perhaps the most difficult job tackling Andrew Johnson. His presidency is furthest removed from the present, and there is some specific background necessary for readers to fully appreciate the charges against John—Mostly, he wasn’t Lincoln. However, Meacham is more than up to the task and this essay ultimately sets the tone for the rest of the book.

Historian Timothy Naftali picks up the pace with his analysis of Richard Nixon. The only case of presidential resignation, Naftali carefully sifts and compresses the overwhelming wealth of Nixon information into a digestible format.

Finishing, journalist Peter Baker examines Bill Clinton. Here, not only is there a compelling narrative about impeachment, but also about the personal lives of politicians.

All of this is bookended by Jeffrey Engel, who covers some basic impeachment information and relates it to today. Altogether, the result is a constructed patchwork of history, with parallels appearing to interweave with each successive case and on into the present.

And that’s really the elephant in the room with this book. Discussion of impeachment have cropped up repeatedly throughout the current presidential administration, starting even before Inauguration Day. With the backdrop of most any other administration, it’s hard to imagine a book like this having such relevance. Engel even suggests as much, asking readers of the opening chapter to put aside thoughts of the current president until the last chapter. It’s effective. This is not a case for or against impeachment but, rather, a wonderfully researched examination of how the country has handled the issue during its most tumultuous times.

A new rule: don’t skip ANYTHING written by Meacham. No exception here. This is really must reading at this stage in our history. Buy it. Study it.

I found this book to be fascinating in that each section was written by a different author/researcher except to the opening and conclusion which were both done by Jeffrey A. Engel. Jon Meacham addresses the circumstances surrounding the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson and does a good job highlighting that it was more of a political attack at that time than one of committing high crimes and misdemeanors. Timothy Nafatli wrote about the near impeachment of Richard Nixon where there was a much more clear case of high crimes and misdemeanors revolving around the Watergate break-in and subsequent cover up along with numerous other questionable activities. Peter Baker digs into the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton and whether or not his actions met the test of high crimes and misdemeanors which the Senate eventually determined they did not. Jeffrey Engel does address the potential or lack thereof of an impeachment of the current president.

I recommend this book for anyone with an interest in the impeachment process and how it has been used and abused in our political system.

I received a free Kindle copy of Impeachment: An American History by Jeffrey A. Engel, Jon Meacham, Peter Baker and Timothy Naftali courtesy of Net Galley  and Random House, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I am an avid read of american history and this book presented a perspective that I have not previously read about.

I might have a minor in American history, but that doesn’t mean I knew much at all about the process and history of impeachment in the United States. Of the three presidents discussed in this book, I knew the most about Nixon, because living within thirty minutes of the Nixon presidential library means I’ve been there like six times on various school field trips (side note: if you’re in southern California, it’s worth going once, but the Reagan library is so much better). I vaguely remember Clinton’s impeachment – I was nine – and I knew a little bit about Andrew Johnson because about a year ago, I looked up which presidents had gotten impeached for… reasons. But this book goes much more in depth, and I learned a lot. I enjoyed the history portion of this book quite a bit.

I’ve read a fair number of history books, and one thing that always stands out is how they’re organized. The authors did a really great job with this one! It was clear and I liked the four distinct sections. It made sense, but also felt like a cohesive book. I also really liked that it was not overly long. If you’ve ever seen a history book, chances are it’s pretty massive. Impeachment gives a lot of information in just 160 pages, which I loved. It was comprehensive, but not intimidatingly so. I think that makes it more accessible, which makes me happy, because this is a topic I think a lot of people will want to learn more about.

And I think the authors anticipated that, because they also talk about why impeachment is relevant now. It’s only happened three times with the presidency of the United States, but it’s an important tool to use when we have, say, a president who is a pathological liar and actively works against the interests of Americans who are not wealthy. I don’t think it’s a secret that I loathe the Commander of Cheese (look it up if you haven’t heard that one), so I did appreciate the continuous shade this book throws at him. He is named within the first few pages, which makes it pretty clear what the aim of this book is. Whether or not impeachment is a good solution to the insanity we’re currently subjected to in the news everyday is definitely debatable. There are pros and cons, and this book does a good job showing both sides. While I think the authors clearly have an opinion, they also allow the reader to decide for themselves in a much more informed manner.

Both the history and the discussion of current political events went really well together. I strongly believe that everyone should have their own opinions, so long as they make an effort to come up with educated opinions (for the record, any sort of discrimination never, ever falls into that category – unless you’re discriminating against Nazis, because please do). Whatever your political beliefs, that should be totally up to you. And I think books like this are an immensely valuable resource for people who want to educate themselves, which, in a perfect would, everyone would. Political debates are far more fun if everyone knows what they’re talking about. Just saying.