Presidents (Eyewitness Books) [Hardcover]

James David Barber (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: DK Eyewitness Books

Explore the history of America's presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush in this updated edition of one of DK's best-selling Eyewitness books.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN; 2 edition (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789488981
• ISBN-13: 978-0789488985
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #833,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An illustrated journey from Washington to Clinton, August 1, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eyewitness 109 Presidents (Eyewitness Guides) (Hardcover)

I got really excited for a moment when I say that this DK Eyewitness Book on the "Presidents" was written by James Barber, because I thought this would be James David Barber, the reknown Presidential scholar. Instead it turns out to be James G. Barber, who does a nice job of bringing out the details for all of the Presidents from Washington to Clinton. The book talks about Clinton's impeachment but does not get as far as the 2000 election (the year the book was published).

My expectation was that this book would look at the office as well as the men, but the organizational structure is a strictly chronology. Young readers get a sense for the relative importance of each President whether or not they get a "chapter" to themself and if they get just one or a pair of two-page spreads. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt all get four page spreads (and they are the ones on our coins). Theodore Roosevelts gets three pages with William Howard Taft getting the four in the "chapter," which makes perfect sense once you know their history. Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and Bill Clinton all get two pages apiece, which shows an understandable bias towards the Presidents of our lifetime.

The format, as everyone who has enjoyed these DK Eyewitness books knows, is to provide a two page spread that is divided into a couple of paragraphs of text along with multiple illustrations on each page with detailed captions (these books set the standard for providing informative captions). For example, the spread on Ronald Reagan has one paragraph of text talking about his main achievements in office and another on the facing page talking about the "Challenger" shuttle disaster. The dominant illustrations are a painting of Reagan that appeared on the cover of "Time" and a space shuttle taking off, but there is also photos of a Reagan-Bush belt buckle for the 1984 campaign, Reagan and his chimp co-star from "Bedtime for Bonzo," a picture of the assassination attempt, Reagan with Mikhail Gorbachev, Oliver North testifying, and Nancy Reagan and her "Just say no to drugs" campaign. A information block identies his term in office, birth information, age at innaguration, First Lady, and children (blocks for other presidents list key events in their presidency as well as information about when and where they died).

The results are a series of brief introductions to the various presidents in which the illustrations underscore the highlights of each administration and the things that made them unique (e.g., FDR's dog Fala). Actually, for those who have read more standard juvenile biographies of various presidents this book will probably be more interesting because the pictures it provides get beyond the standard photographs to personal and political artifacts. For example, you will see lots of campaign posters, pins, and other things you would find at the Smithsonian Institute (e.g., a giant peanut with the Carter smile). So this is not the first place you would look to find out about the Presidents, but sooner or later young students interested in the study of the occupants of the White House will enjoy looking through these pages.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for kids and adults alike, November 26, 2005

By 

Scott Yanoff "syanoff" (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Presidents (Eyewitness Books) (Hardcover)

I especially like this as a quick review of the presidents. My daughter got this book as a gift for her 7th birthday although I had actually read it to her once before when she was 6. Even her sister listened to me read it when she was around 4 or 5. This book makes it easy to get your kids interested in the presidents with its concise captions and short synopses of each president. For example, my daughters really like the part about Teddy Roosevelt having teddy bears created in his honor, looking at George Washington's false teeth, and trying to recognize the presidents on our currency.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction, November 23, 2008

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Presidents (Eyewitness Books) (Hardcover)

This short book (60 pages, excluding table of contents, etc.) is an excellent introduction to the Presidents of the United States. Each President is given between four pages (for such Presidents as Washington and Lincoln) and one paragraph (for such Presidents as Tyler and Harding). Also included are many wonderful pictures and sidebars on many subjects about the President's life and times.

This book is not just a hymn of praise to the Presidents; the book also remarks on scandals that marked some of the President's incumbency, including Nixon's cover-up, Iran-Contra, and Clinton's impeachment. Although this book was written for younger readers, it makes a great, quick read for adults as well.