author
J. Malcolm (John Malcolm) Smith
1921–2003
A political scientist with a lifelong interest in American government, he wrote clearly about presidential power in moments of national crisis. His work is especially known to readers interested in constitutional history and the limits of executive authority.
1 Audiobook
Powers of the President during crises
by J. Malcolm (John Malcolm) Smith, Cornelius P. Cotter
About the author
Born in Canada in 1921, John Malcolm Smith became an American political scientist and later taught at California State University, Hayward. Sources available here consistently connect him with political science and with a strong personal interest in politics throughout his life.
He is best known as the co-author of Powers of the President During Crises, a study of executive power in the United States that has continued to circulate in reprints and library collections. The book focuses on how presidential authority expands or is tested during emergencies, which helps explain why it still draws interest from readers of political history.
There is some inconsistency in the sources about his exact death date, but the most directly relevant records here agree that he died in 2003 in California. A contemporary obituary also remembers him as a distinguished professor at Cal State Hayward.