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Among US presidents, Herbert Hoover and Lyndon Johnson had the strongest ties to Australia. Hoover spent over a year in Australia as a mining engineer before launching a career in international business, food relief, and politics. In 1942, LBJ passed part of his pre-presidential career in Australia. Yet Johnson's presidential tour in 1966, coupled with his return in 1967, generated massive enthusiasm and modest protests against the Vietnam War. President Johnson's visits helped to solidify and celebrate US-Australian ties while encouraging Australian independence, even if during a war directed from Washington. While Hoover left his mark on Australia's landscape in the mines he promoted and the sites that still stand, Australians found little appealing in the dour, Depression-era president who had come and gone without regarding their country as a friend or ally. Johnson thus became a consequential figure in Australia's national history in ways Hoover never did. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1945 and 1975, United States policy toward Native Americans underwent a 180-degree shift, from an assault on tribal authority to almost total recognition of it. Under presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, the federal government had sought to terminate its trust relationship with Indians and assimilate them into Anglo society. But this effort waned and the administrations of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson missed an opportunity to break with the past. During the 1960s, federal officials spoke of a “new emphasis” that moved away from termination and toward tribal self-determination without repudiating assimilation and economic development, Anglo style, as policy aims. In 1970, however, President Richard M. Nixon denounced termination and pledged to end the federal government’s “suffocating paternalism” toward American Indians. Five years later, Congress passed the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act which allowed tribes to run many federal programs themselves. Scholars have published a number of studies of recent Native American policy, but the role of Congress in shaping Indian policy, especially individual members and their Native American constituents, remains largely unexplored.Representative Carl Albert, Democrat of Oklahoma, possessed a limited vision regarding Native American self-determination. The “Little Giant” was one of the few congressmen who saw his career, from 1947 to 1977, span the era of termination, gradual assimilation, and self-determination. A nationally known figure who became majority whip in 1955, majority leader in 1962, and house speaker in 1971, Albert was in a position to influence federal policy. And he was conscious of Indian concerns, since the population of his home state was one-quarter American Indian and his district, the Oklahoma Third, included Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Seminoles, members of the Five Civilize Tribes. Yet Albert’s relations with the Choctaws, who first backed, then opposed termination, exemplifies the ambivalence of many Great Society liberals toward Native American self-determination.

Clark, James C. Red Pepper and Gorgeous George: Claude Pepper's Epic Defeat in the 1950 Democratic Primary. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2011. xvi + 206 pages. Cloth, $29.95. Storrs, [...]

Richard Norton Smith's book, "An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford," provides a comprehensive and well-written biography of the 38th president. Smith argues that Ford's success stemmed from his ordinary background and his ability to connect with working-class Americans. The book also reveals surprising aspects of Ford's life, such as family secrets and his ambition. Despite his lack of charisma, Ford's presidency was historic, as he brought an end to the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal. Smith's biography offers a vibrant portrait of Ford and a clear account of his presidency. [Extracted from the article]

Bowen, Michael. The Roots of Modern Conservatism: Dewey, Taft, and Battle for the Soul of the Republican Party. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2011. ix + 254 [...]