An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford

Historian Smith (On His Own Terms), the former director of the Gerald R. Ford Museum and Library, delivers an exhaustive account of Ford’s life and presidency. Painting his subject as someone “who thought for themselves, [and] did his homework,” Smith tracks Ford’s rise from the only child of an abusive marriage that ended just weeks after his birth in 1913, to standout college football player, freshman congressman from western Michigan, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, replacement for disgraced vice president Spiro Agnew, and president following Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974. Devoting the bulk of the book to Ford’s presidency, Smith meticulously details key moments, including the behind-the-scenes maneuvering to secure Nixon’s resignation, negotiations over the 1975 Helsinki Accords with the Soviet Union (“Widely denounced at the time... [but] now regarded as an important milestone on the road to European liberation,” Smith contends), and the hard-fought battle to secure the 1976 Republican presidential nomination over Ronald Reagan. Though Smith makes a convincing case that Ford’s affability and bipartisanship made him the right person to replace Nixon, the narrative sometimes sags under the weight of its voluminous detail. Still, this is a solid and revealing biography of an underestimated president. Agent: Gail Ross, Ross Yoon Agency. (Apr.)