Book Review Podcast: Professor in Chief

Andreas Gefe

In The New York Times Book Review, Kevin Baker reviews A. Scott Berg’s new biography of Woodrow Wilson. Mr. Baker writes:

No American president was more improbable than Thomas Woodrow Wilson. None better embodied how we like to think of ourselves in the greater world.

A Princeton University president and political economy professor given to making high-minded speeches and advocating a parliamentary system, Wilson held no public office until he was 54 years old. Recruited to run for governor of New Jersey in 1910 by a Democratic machine boss who thought he would be easily controlled, the prof schooled the pro in practical politics, passing a reform agenda that curbed the power of parties and corporations alike. “After dealing with college politicians,” he gibed, “I find that the men with whom I am dealing with now seem like amateurs.”

On this week’s podcast, Mr. Berg discusses “Wilson”; Julie Bosman has notes from the field; Carla Kaplan talks about “Miss Anne in Harlem”; Sasha Abramsky on “The American Way of Poverty”; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Pamela Paul is the host.