Bland Ambition: From Adams to Quayle--The Cranks, Criminals, Tax Cheats, and Golfers Who Made It to Vice President (Paperback)

~ Steve Tally (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Yes, it's true, very often in our nation's history, the second-highest official has been nothing more than an outright crook. That is, when he's not been an adulterer, booze hound, or, more usually, a party hack from way back. In Tally's genuinely entertaining and informative history of all 44 (so far) vice presidents, we learn how each of these men has seen his "bland ambition" fulfilled. Given the number of times a vice president has been elevated to the Oval Office upon the death or resignation of a president, it's amazing how little thought has been given to a veep's qualifications for that responsibility. The nation survives--again, so far. This book is a good value for libraries, both for its content and its price. See also Jules Witcover's Crapshoot: Rolling the Dice on the Vice Presidency , LJ 12/91.--Ed.
- Pamela R. Daubenspeck, Warren-Trumbull Cty. P.L., Warren, Ohio
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Everyone knows the requirements for President of the U.S.--leadership, vision, and airtight alibis dating back to junior high. But just what does it take to be vice-president? As Steve Tally tells it in Blind Ambition, a sly look at our vice-presidents, from John Adams to Dan Quayle, is more outrageous than any modern smear campaign concoction.

Product Details

• Paperback: 404 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P; 1st edition (September 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156131404
• ISBN-13: 978-0156131407
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #638,844 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Vice-Presidency as a magnet for the bland., November 8, 1999

By	Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Bland Ambition is an uproariously funny, highly irreverent look at the Vice-Presidents of the United States. The author covers every man who has ever served as "Veep" (ending with Dan Quayle), exposing every foible and gaff. I would not recommend this work as a textbook, but it does make an interesting introduction to the men who are completely invisible in most history books.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and informative, December 12, 2002

By	Alan Lutton (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

No punches pulled - this is the story of the men behind the men, and how badly they all performed. A very enjoyable read, entertaining, and informative. Short chapters make it (and I say this reluctantly because it's such a good book) a great bathroom reader. HIGHLY recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Amusing, But Factually Incorrect an Astonishing Amount of The Time, June 23, 2009

By	godwillen (beverly hills) - See all my reviews

Amusing, But Factually Incorrect an Astonishing Amount of The Time

If you only wish to be amused, go ahead: read this book - say, in the bathroom: but whatever you do, don't, don't, don't use it as a reference source. How the author manages to get so much wrong, in so short a space is, in its way, a marvel to behold. Its as if he's embodying the kind of ineptitude he's chronicling. Want an example? OK. Truman, he says, was playing poker with his cronies when he got a call to come to the White House. "Something must have happened," he says on his way out the door. At the White House, he's sworn in with a Bible left behind in a guest bedroom, and then he goes home to tell Bess. Later that night, he eats a roast beef sandwhich. Ah. But Truman wasn't playing poker: rather, he had just poured himself a drink in Sam Rayburn's office hideaway, at their end-of-day libation ritual. Truman didn't get a call, but a message to call the White House. He did not say "something must have happened" as he ran out. When he got to the White House and was told that FDR had died, he sent for Bess and Margaret to witness his swearing in - which was done, yes, on a Gideon Bible, but it that belonged to the Head Usher. And finally, when he got back to his apartment, his neighbor made him a turkey sandwich, not roast beef. All of these are small details, but... why believe someone who'd rather tell a good story than tell the truth?