Customer Reviews

Vanity Fair's Presidential Profiles: Defining Portraits, Deeds, and Misdeeds of 43 Notable Americans--And What Each One Really Thought About His Predecessor

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If I had my way this 102 page book would be required reading in every US History class. It makes the presidents human and alive and gives great historical insight. It tells who each of the presidents were and a great deal of their background, beliefs and accomplishments. Each biographical sketch is poetically written, done on one page with a portrait drawing on the next page. There are interesting facts on each president right up to Obama and his Nobel Peace Prize. Included are statements from each president on his predecessor and a list of who is who on money and coins.
This is a book extremely worthy of note on the historical account about each of America's presidents.

I understand how the pages are small which really makes it hard to tell the whole story of each President. But it seems the pages did have enough space to give a nice fair summary to some degree.

Mind you, I'm not saying this entire book is poor. Many of the President's pages were fine reads. But where they went bad on some pages, BOY did they go BAD.

The book seems to just flit by George Washington. I wasn't left with any impression of him or any of the founding fathers to be exact. The book seems to not really bother with them.

Of course, Thomas Jefferson's page seems to only focus on him being an "slaveowner" and spends the rest half of the page talking in some detail about his courtship with a slave woman. (which I agree is true) But honestly, the whole half of the page?? Thomas Jefferson had a lot of summary-worthy deeds to mention. It felt more scolding and ridiculing than an honest summary.

It doesn't shed light on how Woodrow Wilson wasn't really effective in his term which pitched Isolationism to the US and just seems to gush about his peace-seeking ideals and intelligence. (which weren't effective)

Whereas, it goes on to say how Teddy Roosevelt won a Noble Peace Prize that he could "hang on the wall next to his heads of elk and deer." And eloquently ends his page with retiring to likely go planning a kill hunt on animals.

The most shocking came when I reached Bill Clinton. It mentions nothing about the Lewinsky scandal and his impeachment and only sung of his "deeds." This was the page that did it for me. Being the 2nd president to be impeached is rather worthy of recognition in a mere summary, don't you think?

The most ridiculous is when it gets to Obama and accuses that people who are against him are those who don't accept his position yet. His page seemed more like opinion rather than a summary.

The way I see it, if you make a statement that says you'll point out the deeds and misdeeds of 43 presidents, you do it fairly.

I give this 2-stars only because I enjoyed was the pencil art of the Presidents. Really wonderful job by the illustrator, Mark Summers.

Where this book falls apart is just the pages I were bothered with. The book seems to focus on pointing out the "misdeeds" of only particular presidents and the deeds of others.

I know this is a book that overviews the Presidents so if you go and buy it, then it's obvious you're not getting the whole story. Remember that though. And don't let the impression that the summaries leave you with certain men to be the whole truth either. I really wanted to like this book. It was unnecessary for it to turn out this way.
It's not the worst book I've read or one of the bad. It's just a real disappointment...

Vanity Fair's Presidential Profiles: Defining Portraits, Deeds, and Misdeeds of 43 Notable Americans--And What Each One Really Thought About His PredecessorThe volume is smaller that I thought it would be. The art is excellent. While the material for each of the presidents is well chosen and good a little more length would have been better. Given the purpose of the book and the timing it is well worth buying and having.

This is a great book if you are interested in history, the stories are awesome because you won't be able to read others like them in a history book.

This book is an excellent way to see what those men were like who took upon themselves to lead America from its beginning to its present.
What it shows is how different each of them were,what widely different challenges they faced,and what they thought of their predecessors.
While all of them were chosen by the people themselves,as opposed to the leaders of countries which were led by dictators,monarchies,or other forms of rule;each had their own personalities,each tried to do their best for the people and the country and each one lived up to the ideals upon which America was founded;and none ever desired to keep the power bestowed on them for themselves ,family or friends.
After reading this relatively concise history of the Presidents who served America;one can certainly ask if the people made the right choices,could they have found better men to lead the country,and on and on.But the ideals of America have endured ,even to the surprise of many throughout history;but one thing is certain; these were the men who led America, and if the people and founders of America could see what America has become,they would certainly agree with how President Ronald Reagan has so aptly summed it up with these words "A Shining City On A Hill".Or as President John F Kennedy challenged with these words,"Ask not what your country can do for you,ask what you can do for your country".
Each of these Presidents certainly tried to lead America with "the best of their ability" and overall they they are responsible for where America is today ;and all one can ask is; has any group of leaders in the world served its people so well?
The founders expressed their belief in "In God We Trust" and thank God for what America has become.All one has to do is imagine what the world would be like today,had America not been created and succeeded.

May God continue to Bless America and her Presidents.

The book is a nice and interesting review of the US presidents .However the drawings of each one make it a special type of book. The drawings are wonderful, the writings of each one are too.

Lots of information in a compact book. Covers all the presidents from George Washington through Obama. If you're not a history buff, but want a general overview of each president, this is the book for you. Does not have to be read all at once. This is a book you can come back to over and over again. Beautifully illustrated.

This is a great book giving brief, but in depth, bios of the 44 presidents of the US> It's just enough information to peak any further interest in our history. It's also a book for students to get a quick informative read for a school project without being a huge and boring history book (if one isn't much interested in history). Very well done! Highly recommend it for all readers.

What initially caught my eye about this book was the cover illustration of President Barack Obama positioned just behind President George Washington. Its simple power struck me both artistically and emotionally, politically and historically. The simple pencil drawings in this book are human and breathtaking.

This is a slim volume, but the huge amount of time and effort spent in research is very clear. Each page features a few paragraphs not only about each president, but the times and political climate in which they lived. Another noteworthy feature is in the back; a sentence or two from each president as they were quoted describing their predecessor.

The print size used in this book is way too small. The reader needs microscopic eyes in order to read this book. Too bad, because the pictured profiles are good.