Robin Whitney

I bought this book used thinking it would be a decent read to learn about more of the obscure president's in our nation's past. I was wrong. It was a great read and I learned all kinds of stuff about our more famous presidents like Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Truman, FDR, JFK, and Reagan. Additionally, I learned a bit about the obscure ones as well. The more famous presidents are given a lot more coverage than the lesser known ones, but I suppose that's fair in the grand scheme of things.

If nothing else, reading each bio told me whether or not I wanted to follow up with additional books on that particular president. I have gained a new interest in Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, LBJ, and Ronald Reagan. I don't believe the author intended this to be an all-encompassing biography on each president, so if that's what you are looking for, look elsewhere. Think of the size of that book if it did exist! David McCullough's bio on Truman is almost 1000 pages and that's just one president, albeit my favorite Democrat one.

I suppose I could nitpick and say that certain things were left out of certain presidents and other unimportant things were included in the book, but that would be a matter of opinion. I can assure you that nothing major that I can recall was left out. All wars are mentioned along with any substantial legislation that occurred during their term. I highly recommend this book.… (més)