Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Errors, Errors, Errors, March 6, 2001
This book is loaded with errors. Some simple, like dates, but others much more interesting. On p. 227 we learn "No vice president who succeeded into the highest office has ever won an additional presidential term by election." Maybe in the 19th century, but Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Lyndon Johnson all were VP's who became President and won election in their own right. The book ignores TR and Truman, but does tell the reader L. Johnson was a loser. Wrong. Lots of minor date errors. One example on p. 133 we learn, "After winning the 1856 election, Franklin Pierce..." Excuse me, but Buchanan won the 1856 election. On page 65 we learn, "Six of the nation's First Ladies were previously wed before entering the White House." Excuse me, but almost all the First Ladies were previously wed before entering the White House. However, what they meant were previously married to men other than the President. The book includes Mrs. Nancy Davis who became Nancy Reagan. Not true. Ronnie was her first husband, and the authors ignore Betty Ford who was previously married. Although the book has its enjoyment, I wonder how many other errors are in it which I'm not aware of.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Author's "Dips, flips...slips", August 28, 2001
By A Customer
I have never run into a "history" book so filled with errors, misspellings, misstatements, and omissions as "Presidential Blips" by B.S. McReynolds. I am no historian, but do read my fair share of presidential history. I had just begun the book when I saw that Carter had appointed the first black Secretary of State. Wrong -- Secretary of the Army. George Washington took a boat "to work, sailing...from Mount Vernon to Washington, D.C." Hardly, since the capital was in New York City and Philadelphia during his tenure. John Tyler was 59 when he remarried. No, only 54. There are errors in dates, names, and facts on, I would guess, one of every three pages of the 258 pages. It is hard to decide on a "personal favorite" mistake. There are just so many, and some are so bizarre as to call into question the factual basis of the entire book. "Martin Van Buren was the first U.S. President who was not a signer of the Declaration of Independence." Well, Washington, Madison, Monroe, JQ Adams, and Andrew Jackson -- in office before Van Buren -- didn't sign it. Alben Barkley, Truman's veep, is referred to as "Albern W. Barkly." The "olny" (sic) presidents to be left-handed? Oops, George Bush (# 41) isn't listed. Benjamin Harrison's veep of the first term wasn't renominated at the "1832 Republican Convention in Cincinnati..." Sorry, but that was in 1892 and it was in Minneapolis. The book may have some interesting comments, some illuminating stories, and some rarely-discussed events. But a reader can't rely on much when so many inconsistencies, errors, and omissions are rampant throughout the book. McReynolds uses one entire page of text and illustration to ridicule Dan Quayle's spelling problems. People who live in glass houses...........
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A Trivia book of Presidents., April 6, 1999
By A Customer
I have read and enjoyed Presidential Blips and have now seen our Presidents in a new light. They are both sometimes funny and ridiculous. Most entertaining for ages......teens to retirement. Presidential Blips--I have found informative and enlightening from our first President, George Washington, to Bill Clinton. Litttle known facts as to who our first gay president was to the never talked about fact that the United States has had two presidents who were slaves before stepping into our nations highest office! . (Page 250) This book is a fun gift for anyone who enjoys both humor and trivia with a touch of history. I highly recommend this book. Lee Young
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