David H. Burton is Professor of History at St. Joseph's University. He is author of several biographies and books on American intellectual history including Political Ideas of Justice Holmes.

Burton (emer., Saint Joseph's Univ.) contributes a relatively brief, succinct account of Taft's contributions to international peace. The work traces Taft's pre-presidential roles as governor of the Philippines, mediator in Cuba, and negotiator with Japan; presidential activities such as his "Dollar Diplomacy," efforts to achieve reciprocal trade with Canada, fostering of arbitration treaties, and cautious response to the early Mexican revolution; and his wartime leadership of the internationalist body, the League to Enforce Peace. The 45 pages of appendixes of treaties and speeches include one document, the Root-Takahira Agreement of 1908, with which Taft had nothing to do. Burton draws heavily upon published secondary works and his own edited Collected Works of William Howard Taft (2001-03). While he is to be commended for offering fresh appreciation of a president still far too neglected, his book is no substitute for such detailed works as Paolo E. Coletta's The Presidency of William Howard Taft (CH, Nov'73); Walter and Marie Scholes's The Foreign Policies of the Taft Administration (1970); and Ralph E. Minger's William Howard Taft and United States Foreign Policy: The Apprentice Years, 1900-1908 (CH, Jan'76). Summing Up: Recommended. Libraries seeking complete collections on US presidents, upper-division undergraduates and above. (—Choice)

David H. Burton is Professor of History at St. Joseph's University. He is author of several biographies and books on American intellectual history including Political Ideas of Justice Holmes.

Burton (emer., Saint Joseph's Univ.) contributes a relatively brief, succinct account of Taft's contributions to international peace. The work traces Taft's pre-presidential roles as governor of the Philippines, mediator in Cuba, and negotiator with Japan; presidential activities such as his "Dollar Diplomacy," efforts to achieve reciprocal trade with Canada, fostering of arbitration treaties, and cautious response to the early Mexican revolution; and his wartime leadership of the internationalist body, the League to Enforce Peace. The 45 pages of appendixes of treaties and speeches include one document, the Root-Takahira Agreement of 1908, with which Taft had nothing to do. Burton draws heavily upon published secondary works and his own edited Collected Works of William Howard Taft (2001-03). While he is to be commended for offering fresh appreciation of a president still far too neglected, his book is no substitute for such detailed works as Paolo E. Coletta's The Presidency of William Howard Taft (CH, Nov'73); Walter and Marie Scholes's The Foreign Policies of the Taft Administration (1970); and Ralph E. Minger's William Howard Taft and United States Foreign Policy: The Apprentice Years, 1900-1908 (CH, Jan'76). Summing Up: Recommended. Libraries seeking complete collections on US presidents, upper-division undergraduates and above. (—Choice)

David H. Burton is Professor of History at St. Joseph's University. He is author of several biographies and books on American intellectual history including Political Ideas of Justice Holmes.

Burton (emer., Saint Joseph's Univ.) contributes a relatively brief, succinct account of Taft's contributions to international peace. The work traces Taft's pre-presidential roles as governor of the Philippines, mediator in Cuba, and negotiator with Japan; presidential activities such as his "Dollar Diplomacy," efforts to achieve reciprocal trade with Canada, fostering of arbitration treaties, and cautious response to the early Mexican revolution; and his wartime leadership of the internationalist body, the League to Enforce Peace. The 45 pages of appendixes of treaties and speeches include one document, the Root-Takahira Agreement of 1908, with which Taft had nothing to do. Burton draws heavily upon published secondary works and his own edited Collected Works of William Howard Taft (2001-03). While he is to be commended for offering fresh appreciation of a president still far too neglected, his book is no substitute for such detailed works as Paolo E. Coletta's The Presidency of William Howard Taft (CH, Nov'73); Walter and Marie Scholes's The Foreign Policies of the Taft Administration (1970); and Ralph E. Minger's William Howard Taft and United States Foreign Policy: The Apprentice Years, 1900-1908 (CH, Jan'76). Summing Up: Recommended. Libraries seeking complete collections on US presidents, upper-division undergraduates and above. (—Choice)