Coolidge: An American Enigma

When it comes to many of the different biographies I have read, I must admit that I was not looking forward to Coolidge. This is mostly because he is not remembered for doing much in office. He did not face any major foreign or domestic crises. He did not pass any sweeping legislation, nor was he a great public speaker. In fact, the only thing he is truly known for was how little he spoke at all.
This made me face the biography, Coolidge: An American Enigma, by Robert Sobel, with some trepidation, as I wondered how an author could make an entertaining book with seemingly so little to work with. It turns out that Sobel cannot do this, as he is more talented at writing about economics than the character and political affinity of our 30th President.

That is not to say that this book is terrible. Firstly, it is obvious that Sobel has done his homework on the topic. He is knowledgeable, with insight into not only the economics of the time period but also how the Harding and Coolidge administrations affected (or did not affect) the economy. Then, there is the language used in this text. Sobel clearly likes the use of long quotations from newspaper articles and other primary sources to help the reader understand the important ideas and thoughts of the time. This makes for a strong understanding of the ideas that influenced various people during the Coolidge Presidency.

Yet, there are many things that I did not like about this book. The first of which is that it is extremely dry. Sobel is used to writing economics books, not biographies. This means he is used to writing in a style of “First this happened, then it led to this, then-‘' with a lot of facts and figures in between. While this style of writing can be advantageous to writing about economics, it does not translate well when writing about a President. The character of a President is defined by who they are and how they have been shaped by their experiences. This then shows both their strengths and weaknesses during their political term in office, which the author can then explain to the reader through various examples.

Sadly, there is little of that here. In fact, Sobel's objective seems to be clearing Coolidge's name of any major scandals of the Harding administration, and then dispelling any personal myths of his character, causing this book to read almost like a courtroom drama, as Sobel works to clear Coolidge of any wrongdoing from the scandals of the Harding administration. In principle, this can seem like a good idea, but in practice, this can lead to long sections where the reader cannot pass effective judgment, as they most likely do not know very much about Coolidge to begin with, and have to take Sobel's word for it. Then there are the quotations Sobel uses throughout the book. Sobel uses newspaper and political quotes from both sides of the political aisle to describe people's reactions to various decisions made by people throughout Coolidge's life. While some may find these quotes insightful, I personally found them long, and tedious, as their influence tended to be more of a burden than a help.

While it is true that there may not be many books on Coolidge to choose from, I find it difficult to recommend this one. It is awfully dry and difficult to read at times, making for a reading experience that was a slog to get through, even when Sobel is at his strongest, explaining the ability and reasoning behind the spending cuts of the Coolidge administration, and its effects on the local economy. You could read this book if you want to read about Coolidge, but if I were you, I'd continue searching for almost anything else. I give it a two out of five.