Americans have named schools, counties, rivers, cities, and even their own children after U.S. presidents. Their work is in our laws, their words adorn our monuments, and their countenances appear in a trillion places (mostly on our currency). As we prepare to decide who will be the 44th president of the United States, can we truly say we understand the office and its phenomenal history? What do we really know about the men who helped transform a struggling republic into a superpower?
Using detailed top-ten lists, historian Thomas R. Flagel offers a provocative new look at an astonishingly resilient institution. With diligent research, he explores the best, worst, largest, and most controversial facets of an office that some feared would become a monarchy, others hoped would represent all of the people, and John Adams wanted to call "High Highness, the President of the United States of America, and the Protector of their Liberties."
Chapters include:
Using detailed top-ten lists, historian Thomas R. Flagel offers a provocative new look at an astonishingly resilient institution. With diligent research, he explores the best, worst, largest, and most controversial facets of an office that some feared would become a monarchy, others hoped would represent all of the people, and John Adams wanted to call "High Highness, the President of the United States of America, and the Protector of their Liberties."
Chapters include:
- Elections: the closest races, the most vicious campaigns, and the biggest landslides
- Presidential Character: careers, hobbies, the most religious presidents, and the Machiavellians
- The Domestic Sphere: the biggest deficit spenders, the most ambitious programs, vetoes, pardons, and the worst fights with the Superme Courts
- Foreign Affairs: diplomats, doctrines, and ranking the commanders in chief
- The Inner Circle: first ladies and vexing relatives, construction and destruction in the White House, scandals at the highest level, and the real West Wing
- In Retrospect: the most underrated and overrated presidents, assassinations and attempted assassinations, and the greatest changes to the presidency itself
About the Author
Thomas R. Flagel teaches history at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He holds degrees from Lords College, Kansas State University, and Creighton University, and he has also studied at the University of Vienna. Flagel is the author of other books in the History Buff's Guide series: The Civil War, World War II, and (with Ken Allers) Gettysburg.My Take on the Book
As I had already reviewed Mr. Flagel's book on the Civil War, I was excited to also review his book on the Presidents. As a Presidential history buff, I found this book to be a great collection of the known and unknown facts of all of our Presidents (Up to President Bush). Written in such a way that anyone can understand, this book takes history to a fun new level and makes people want to read it and learn from it. If you read this book, you will not want to put it down!
If you would like to have this book for your own collection, you can find it on Amazon!
All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.
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