Complete Idiot's Guide to the American Presidents [Paperback]

Patrick Sauer (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 14, 2000 | Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide

While there arey a number of overviews of the 41 Presidents of the United States published for the juvenile market, few adult books provide a basic look at each man and his presidency, the context of his time and the major events that shaped him. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to American Presidents" does just that. You'll learn about each president with the aid of timelines, photographs, trivia and other details.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

While there arey a number of overviews of the 41 Presidents of the United States published for the juvenile market, few adult books provide a basic look at each man and his presidency, the context of his time and the major events that shaped him. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to American Presidents" does just that. You'll learn about each president with the aid of timelines, photographs, trivia and other details.

About the Author

Patrick Sauer, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Starting a Reading Group, earned his Masters in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California. He was raised in Billings, Montana, and now lives in New York City. He plans on voting in the 2000 election for the first candidate to mention this book in a public forum.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 1 edition (June 14, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028638212
• ISBN-13: 978-0028638218
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #305,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for adults and kids! July 24, 2000

By Jessica Faust

Format:Paperback

I bought this for my son's school report on presidents and got hooked myself. This is a fantastic book. Filled with all the facts and information you need to know, but fun to read. Don't take the Idiot's title literally. This is for anyone who wants or needs to know anything there is to know about our greatest, worst, and most mediocre presidents.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Minimalist account of each president February 17, 2003

By J. Grattan TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

The problem with this book is that if one is not somewhat familiar with U.S. history, there will no framework on which to hang the few actions and events that occurred on each president's watch. And the organization of the book contributes to that problem, because the presidents are not presented chronologically. The continuity of events across presidencies gets lost in this book.

The presidents are discussed in five tiers, from the "undisputed champions" to the "tomoto cans." In other words, they are ranked from the best to the worst. After the top tier, there is definitely room to quibble with the ratings. The author is rather vague as to the selection process. As a side note, for this reader what is especially noticeable in this journey through the presidents is the remarkably few really top notch presidents we have had. Most have been rather mediocre.

Contributing to the narrative disorganization of the book is the author's scattering of snippets of presidential facts in boxes on each page that are not necessarily connected to the main text. In addition, despite the modest amount of information that is actually presented in the book, there are several errors in facts and dates and in some cases there is an absence of dates.

For a quick read that will yield a few basic facts, this book will serve that purpose. Beyond that, the book's utility is doubtful.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good material January 12, 2006

By Bigsis126

Format:Paperback

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because the presidents are not listed chronilogically. They are grouped together as "Legends" or "Heavyweights" etc. It was sometimes difficult to remember what tariff did what or what law hurt who's presidency if it's not listed in order and you keep having to go back and check. If you can get around that timeline thing than this book is very good for giving great info.