Contributing Editor, American Heritage

Most overrated:

Woodrow Wilson in a walk. Never has the peril of having a truly good man in the White House been more clearly demonstrated. His dictation of peace terms at Versailles was one of the seminal blunders of this century, and his overweening vanity and his sense of self-righteousness did as much to sabotage the League of Nations as anything Henry Cabot Lodge thought of.

Most underrated:

Winfield Scott was a political fool. Nevertheless he was our greatest soldier between Washington and Sherman. He created the professional American army and led it brilliantly for half a century. Scott deserved a better war, or, failing that, better understanding of the wars he did fight in.