Customer Reviews

The American Heritage Illustrated History of the Presidents

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This is a very good reference book on all U.S. presidents up through the year 2000. There is even a section covering the year 2000 election. Each chapter which covers each president includes 10-20 pages covering the key accomplishments and/or failures of each administration. The book includes lots of pictures and other illustrations. Each chapter also includes nice tables listing key information about each president including date of birth, date of death, members of cabinet, etc. Good start for those readers interested in the presidency and those men who have served as president.

"History buffs" will like this book. I used it as a sort of supplement for my dismal education in U.S. History. Beschloss did a decent job of gathering forty-odd synopses of the different Presidents, including very appropriate and interesting photos, and included a short biographical summary of each President (pertinent facts about immediate family and career). The book is also nice to help the reader assess the "big picture" of American History, from a renegade colony led by George Washington, scrapping for soldiers and supplies, to the world's most prosperous nation and only superpower.

Depending on your interest, you'll read the book differently. The economic perspective is what I looked for in the book, and I was not disappointed. You will definitely be made aware of the development of Industry, Jefferson's (and others') bad economic policies, and how different Presidents were affected by the ebb and flow of the economy over the last two centuries. Those who are interested in the wars will probably turn to Lincoln and FDR first, those who want to know more about the Founding Fathers will focus on the first several Presidents, and so on.

The book is more of a reference than something you would sit down and read from cover to cover, but is an excellent resource for most of us. By the way, the articles by and large are by no means tendentious. Beschloss and the writers undoubtedly went out of their way to be objective. If you have some extra time on your hands, give it a read. You probably won't be disappointed.

econ

If you've ever sat through a history class or finished a history book and been dissatisfied with the lack of "meat" on the "bone", you will love this book. It's very thick and packed with just about everything you could ever hope to learn about the American presidents, from George Washington to Captain (...)...uh I mean "William Jefferson Clinton". You'll learn where they were born, where they died, how they were brought up, who they married, how they were educated, their political agendas and snafus, who liked them and who hated them. There are also tons of pictures and illustrations.

I am a reader of American presidential history, and this is the best overview of the presidents I have read so far. It is loaded with details. The author clearly is a scholar of presidential history. This book meets the highest standard of scholarship while being very readable.

Too many other books on the presidents are too vague (even inaccurate) or targeted for junior high readers. Others have a political bias.

This book does not subject you to watered down propaganda, recycled speeches, or overly-extended biographies covering the lives of the presidents before they were presidents. This book profiles the presidents in an unbiased way, with an emphasis on their acts as president, in scholarly detail. You will truly get to know the truth of every president in this book.

Highly recommended.