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Full Description
This memoir of Woodrow Wilson is a long-neglected treasure, full of the candid and perceptive observations of Wilson's brother-in-law and close friend, Stockton Axson. A charming and talented scholar of English literature, Axson became one of the few people in whom the reticent Wilson confided freely. Axson and Wilson met in 1884, when Wilson was courting Axson's sister Ellen, while Axson was still a school boy. The friendship of the two men ended only with the president's death in 1924. Axson's fondness for his mentor, "Brother Woodrow," pervades this account, but he is frank in his analysis of Wilson's flaws. As one of only a few personal memoirs of Wilson, this book offers a uniquely intimate view of the "human side" of the introverted president--and a sensitive evocation of the social life of a bygone era. Axson begins with memories of Wilson's father and of Wilson's life as a young man, including his engagement and marriage to Ellen Axson and his early teaching posts. Wilson taught for twelve years at Princeton University before his accession to its presidency, and Axson also taught there during this period.
After Wilson began his stormy career as president of Princeton, Axson's bachelor quarters were often a meeting place for the "Wilson faction." His lucid analysis of Wilson's successes and failures as Princeton's president is one of the highlights of the book--and probably the best record of these years of Wilson's life. The book ends with a look behind the scenes of Wilson's career as governor of New Jersey and president of the United States, and an analysis of the growing complexity of his personality. "It is Uncle Joseph [Wilson's father] in him," observed one relative of Wilson's seeming rigidity. From the standpoint of a loving family member, Axson offers a penetrating but sympathetic report on how Wilson changed as he bore the terrible burdens of World War I and its aftermath. Originally published in 1993. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions.
The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Contents
List of IllustrationsEditor's IntroductionPreface3Ch. 1Woodrow Wilson and His Father9Ch. 2Health and Recreations30Ch. 3Woodrow Wilson's Educational Career48Ch. 4Social Disposition and Habits78Ch. 5Ellen Axson Wilson and Woodrow Wilson90Ch. 6President of Princeton University112Ch. 7Politics, 1910-1913150Ch. 8The Personality of Woodrow Wilson200Notes249Index287
