Customer Reviews

The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book goes beyond complete and into the obscure and bizarre. Details include everything from the presidents' family tree, health maladies, cabinet and supreme court nominations, and positve and negative quotes from notable persons of the era.

This excellent reference has a very easy to read and consistent format. Even the most ardent presidential scholar is likely to learn a thing or two. There is no better reference available in my opinion.

I am writing based on the 2001 hardcover edition.

This is an fascinating, very readable book. The research is excellent. The biographical facts about each president are fleshed out with narratives about their early lives, marriages, children, religious beliefs, careers, retirements, and more.

The political matters likewise get excellent treatment, with narratives about each president's nomination, campaign, election, and achivements. Each Cabinet member and most Supreme Court nominees get at least a short paragraph. There are also quotes by and about each president, including both praise and criticism. Far more than a dry series of lists and facts, the human touch makes this book very worthwhile for anyone fascinated by American history in general and the presidents in particular.

The book, first published in 1983, is revised at least every four years. Like earlier editions, this one was released just after a new president took office, so it covers events up to early 2001. Thus the 2000 election, Clinton's 11th-hour pardons, and Bush Jr's initial appointments are covered; September 11 will appear in the next edition. The Clinton chapter from the 1997 edition has been completely rewritten and discusses his tumultuous presidency at length.

Unfortunately, DeGregorio did not revise the pre-Clinton chapters, so they are embarrassingly dated. Bush Sr's chapter mentions nothing about his son becoming President, not even referring us to the brand new Bush Jr. chapter. Richard Nixon and Jackie Kennedy both died in 1994, yet these basic facts go unmentioned despite two subsequent revisions.

This book is so detailed - where else can you find descriptions of John Tyler's 14 children, James Garfield's extramarital affair, Andrew Johnson's religious views, and Calvin Coolidge's grades - that I am amazed at this neglect.

The 1993 edition (which I recently replaced) gets five stars. The 2001 edition retains and adds to the excellent work from the previous editions - but I can only give four stars to this less-than-thorough revision.

This is a solid reference book. If you are looking for thumbnail sketches of U.S. Presidents and their administrations, this book will satisfy. The personal history of the president is here, family information, political career highlights, administration personnel, major issues faced, election results, quotes and opinions for and against. It is the kind of book I remember as a youngster that gives you enough information to fire one's thirst for historic knowledge -- great for browsing. Only complaint, the paper on which the work is printed is of a very inferior quality that is not the best one could ask for for reading -- also not particularly durable. These are production criticisms, the work is very good for its purpose.

In addition to being a thorough research guide, this work combines the thoroughness of subject matter of an encyclopedia along with a purposeful series of biographies. There is much about the presidents individually from Washington to the present while presenting historians and research enthusiasts alike with an opportunity to zero in on a particular president and his era and learn much more. There are thorough listings of cabinet members, detailed informations on vice-presidents, and lists of books available on the leaders and the periods of which they were a part for those who wish to do additional research on presidents and their eras.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the section dealing with presidential campaigns. One can easily get a feel for an era and its leaders by reading about the campaigns, learning about the major issues involved, and analyzing the critical problems facing the nation at those points, whether it be slavery and the Civil War or the Depression of the thirties. Comprehensive election results are also available, whereby interested readers can discern just where the country stood at a given point in time in terms of the voting power strengths of the parties regionally. Trends become clearly discernible through careful analysis.

I also like the way that comments regarding presidents, both pro and con, appear, done in an objective way. Patterns become discernible as to which major political forces backed and opposed certain presidents as well as why.

I am a college student and a history/political science major. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents is an excellent reference guide and will give you all the ins and outs you could ever possibly want to know about the Presidents. Not only extremely in depth and informative, but very entertaining as well. A great read.

I was a history major in college and did some student teaching at the high school level. Whether I was working on an essay or preparing a lecture, this book was one of my favorite references. Not only does it offer well organized information on the Presidents (birth, childhood, family, education, etc.), it offers tons of information on the people, legislation, and events of their administrations. It describes cabinet members, laws that were passed, foreign relations, domestic issues, you name it. It saved me a lot of time in my research. The sections on the physical descriptions, personality traits and, in some cases, pre and extramarital affairs on each of the presidents was very interesting and offered info you normally do not find in other books. I highly recommend it.

Having completed a doctoral dissertation relating to presidential history, I researched many of the more populist references on the subject. Degregorio's book is a masterpiece of simple, straight-forward synopsis. He does a wonderful job at following a tight organizational structure to provide tons of interesting and useful factoids addressing the politician's life, leadership, and personality. This book is a fine contribution to the bookshelf of any historian (or presidential hack).

Of all the reference books I turn to when I need to answer a student's question or satisfy a curiosity, this is the one I use the most. It is well organized and I find the information I am looking for quickly. Just about everything you would want to know about a president, his family, background, opponents, accomplishments, etc. is in this book. It includes worthwile stuff and the most mundane trivia. A must-have for any history teacher or presidential trivia enthusiast.

This is the complete book of U.S Presidents, revised and updated through the 2004 Election. It contains every president from George Washington to George W. Bush.

This is the most comprehensive single-volume sourcebook on U.S. Presidents, from George Washington to George W. Bush. This book offers a factual look at all of our Chief Executives and their lives, loves, friends, foes, Administrations, Successes and failures. Marriages, Romances, Siblings, This book covers it all.

Each chapter contains more than 30 subheadings designed to create a composite portait of a President. The subdivisions go far beyond the readily available facts to cover each presidents major appointments, recreational interests, religion, career before presidency, legislation passed and more.

For the trivia buff who wants to know how much William Howard Taft weighed at the height of his presidency..or the amateur historian who cant remember who served as Benjamin Harrisons Vice President or for the student who needs to know the name of William McKinleys assassin..This book is the answer.


Overall, very factual and a great read, Highly Recommended.

I got this book for Christmas and I love it. It's a well written look at history. You'll find everything about a President's life including what they did for fun and information on each familly of the President's As far as when they were President you'll find out about the legislation each was most famous for, their cabinets, previous jobs, persidental campaigns, opponets, major national and world events that happend during ther terms, states added, ammedments added to the constitution, detailed infomation on their deaths, Supreme Court appointments, quotes both for and against each President, and books about each President in case you want to know a bit more about them. You won't regret buying it.