Woodrow Wilson came to politics from the academy, and undoubtedly his university experiences prepared him for the political challenges of the presidency. As unlikely a president as he was, his success in pushing through a reform agenda surprised his critics and the Democratic Party bosses who thought they could control him. With his comprehensive Wilson (Putnam, $40), Pulitzer Prize- winning biographer A. Scott Berg relies on fresh anecdotes and historical nuggets to paint a thorough, engaging, and refined account of Wilson’s life as an academic and a politician. Berg focuses on the political genius of the first “modern” president, but also on blemishes that marred Wilson’s career, including his atrocious record on race and freedom of expression.