Marc Landy, professor of political science at Boston College, and Sidney Milkis, professor of government at the University of Virginia, will talk about their book at 8 p.m. in Hardie Auditorium.
Admission is free and open to the public.
Each of these presidents has been the subject of numerous studies, but their links with one another as great presidents, according to the authors, have seldom been explored. The work on Presidential Greatness began several years ago as the outgrowth of discussions between Landy and Milkis, both of whom have taught numerous classes on the presidency. Their objective was not so much to define greatness as to show the common characteristics of great presidents. The five presidents chosen reflect a longstanding consensus among scholars, and to a great extent, the public. Among those excluded are Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, all hailed at one time or another by scholars, pundits and the public.