An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford
SKU: 56824123296

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

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An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. FordWall Street Journal Top 10 Best Books of 2023 "Richard Norton Smith had brought a lifetime of wisdom, insight, and storytelling verve to the life of a consequential president Gerald R. Ford. Ford's is a very American life, and Smith has charted its vicissitudes and import with great grace and illuminating perspective. A marvelous achievement!" Jon Meacham From the preeminent presidential scholar and acclaimed biographer of historical figures including

Wall Street Journal Top 10 Best Books of 2023

"Richard Norton Smith had brought a lifetime of wisdom, insight, and storytelling verve to the life of a consequential president--Gerald R. Ford. Ford's is a very American life, and Smith has charted its vicissitudes and import with great grace and illuminating perspective. A marvelous achievement!" -- Jon Meacham

From the preeminent presidential scholar and acclaimed biographer of historical figures including George Washington, Herbert Hoover, and Nelson Rockefeller comes this eye-opening presidential biography of Gerald R. Ford, whose presidency arguably set the course for post-liberal America and a post-Cold War world.

For many Americans, President Gerald Ford was the genial accident of history who controversially pardoned his Watergate-tarnished predecessor, presided over the fall of Saigon, and became a punching bag on Saturday Night Live. Yet as Richard Norton Smith reveals in a book full of surprises, Ford was an underrated leader whose tough decisions and personal decency look better with the passage of time.

Drawing on hundreds of interviews and thousands of documents, Smith recreates Ford's hardscrabble childhood in Michigan, his early anti-establishment politics and lifelong love affair with the former Betty Bloomer, whose impact on American culture he predicted would outrank his own. As president, Ford guided the nation through its worst Constitutional crisis since the Civil War and broke the back of the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression--accomplishing both with little fanfare or credit (at least until 2001 when the JFK Library gave him its prestigious Profile in Courage Award in belated recognition of the Nixon pardon).

Less coda than curtain raiser, Ford's administration bridged the Republican pragmatism of Eisenhower and Nixon and the more doctrinaire conservatism of Ronald Reagan. His introduction of economic deregulation would transform the American economy, while his embrace of the Helsinki Accords hastened the collapse of the Soviet Union, a turning point in the Cold War.

Illustrated with sixteen pages of black-and-white photos, this definitive biography, a work of modern American history a decade in the making, will change history's views of a man whose warning about presidential arrogance ("God help the country") is more relevant than ever.

How did the man dismissed as an accident of history shape the next fifty years of American politics?

  • The Nixon Pardon: An in-depth look at the controversial decision that cost Ford the election but earned him a Profile in Courage Award decades later.
  • An Underrated President: Go beyond the Saturday Night Live caricature to uncover the tough, decent leader who guided the nation through crisis with little fanfare.
  • Pivotal Economic Policy: Discover how Ford's introduction of economic deregulation and his handling of a severe downturn set the course for the modern American economy.
  • A Bridge in US History: Explore how Ford's administration connected the Republican pragmatism of Eisenhower to the rising conservatism of Ronald Reagan.
  • Meticulous Research: Built on a decade of work, drawing from thousands of documents and hundreds of interviews to create the definitive account of a consequential life.
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SKU: 56824123296

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Paul Podczervinski
Massapequa, US
★★★★★ 5
Works great & smells good!
Scent: Sandalwood
I was concerned the facial wash would be too harsh but thankfully I was wrong. Every part of this kit compliments the other. My skin and beard feel noticeably softer, and I haven't had any acne breakouts. The scent is masculine but not too strong. This is now my new routine.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2026
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Cleo Beanie
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 5
Smells amazing!!
Scent: Sandalwood
My husband loves this set. He has sensitive skin, and loves this product since it doesn’t cause any irritation, plus it smells amazing! The face wash seems to be helping with beard acne, while not drying out the hair like other washes do, and the oil moisturizes well creating a healthy shine. I would say this is well worth your money if you are looking for a full starter kit to try something new and well-rounded for your beard care.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2026
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Amazon Customer
San Leandro, US
★★★★★ 5
Smells great!
Scent: Sandalwood
My Partner loves the smell and says it makes his beard feel so soft. I would have to agree! The plastic brush is lame, the products are good!
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Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2026
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Caleb Watkins
Battle Creek, US
★★★★★ 4
Great product at great price...
Scent: Sandalwood
As someone who's had a beard off and on for the better part of a decade, I've gone through my fair share of beard products. For the most part they're all very similar. The washes for the most part clean and leave a very squeaky clean (almost dry) feeling out of the shower. Conditioners help a bit after a wash, but not anything to write home about, the only one I've tried that I really liked was Scotch Porter. Oils help in hydrating, some are excessively oily and just don't look very appealing. Balms will help tidy up the overall shape of the beard, some are not really strong enough and just end up being another layer of oil on the wiskers. Ok, now for this review... So I believe this to be the most natural and most effective line of products I've found to date. First off, the wash, oh my, the wash... I could really just stop right there. This is my favorite of the line. It leaves my beard so soft I find myself not wanting to ruin it with a conditioner. If you try just one of these product, the wash is a must. Next we have the detangler, this is pretty much a leave in conditioner. It softens out the beard even further and adds a slickness to the beard, it feels great. The oil in the set is probably unnecessary since the wash and detangler do such a great job, but in any case it is a quality oil. The reason I say this is because it doesn't really stay oily in the hair, you can feel that after initially applying, it does absorb into either the follicle or skin, whichever it's intended to. As I mentioned, there are some oils that just don't do that, it's just greasy all day long. The balm is probably my least favorite of the line, but only because it's not a very strong holding balm. It's kind of like I mentioned, another layer of oil. This one does also absorb so it's ok. I prefer a more tacky balm with more wax rather than oils. Also, the scent of this line is a subtle chocolatey vanilla kind of smell. It's a very pleasant scent that my wife also enjoyed initially. However after about a week or so of using the product, I no longer get so much as a whiff, which is fine, I find that to be common with many of these beard oils and such. So, overall a great set of products that leave my beard feeling soft and hydrated all day long, it also feels like quality, in the sense that it does absorb. It doesn't feel like you just applied baby oil all over your face. I cannot stress this point enough, there are some "name brand" beard care product that feel as such. That's why this product line really stands out to me. Five stars...
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Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2026
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Dave
San Leandro, US
★★★★★ 5
Very Good
Scent: Sandalwood
I really like the smell and feel of these products. Pretty good buy as a kit
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Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2026

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