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Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents (Paperback)

by Cormac O'Brien (Author) "Talk about a warm welcome-when General George Washington visited New York City at the end of the Revolutionary War, one local newspaper cheered, "He comes!..." (more)
Key Phrases: elected term, United States, New York, Civil War (more...)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Your high school history teachers never gave you a book like this one! Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents features outrageous and uncensored profiles of the men in the White House - complete with hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downright wacko facts. You'll discover that: - George Washington spent a whopping 7% of his salary on booze - John Quincy Adams loved to skinny-dip in the Potomac River - Warren G. Harding gambled with White House china when he ran low on cash - Jimmy Carter reported a UFO sighting in Georgia - And Richard Nixon . . . sheesh, don't get us started on Nixon! With chapters on everyone from George Washington to G. W. Bush, Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents tackles all the tough questions that other history books are afraid to answer: Are there really secret tunnels underneath the White House? How many presidential daughters have bared their all for Playboy? And what was Nancy Reagan thinking when she appeared on Diff'rent Strokes? American history was never this much fun in school!

About the Author
Cormac O'Brien is a freelance writer living in New York City.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Quirk Books (February 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1931686572
  • ISBN-13: 978-1931686570
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #380,185 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Talk about a warm welcome-when General George Washington visited New York City at the end of the Revolutionary War, one local newspaper cheered, "He comes! 'Tis mighty Washington! Words fail to tell all he has done!" Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
elected term
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, New York, Civil War, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Andrew Jackson, World War, John Adams, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, Secret Service, John Quincy Adams, Jimmy Carter, Martin Van Buren, Ronald Reagan, Andrew Johnson, Gerald Ford, Henry Clay, Herbert Hoover, James Madison, John Tyler, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Customer Reviews

26 Reviews
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 (13)
4 star:
 (6)
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars It's No Secret, This Book Rules!, January 20, 2004
By "jimslade" (Brooklyn, New York United States) - See all my reviews
I had expected that lurking secretly behind a provocative title and cover design was yet another witless compilation of oft-related and tiresome Presidential yarns. You know the kind of drab anecdotal volume that you can't help but read with a dishwatery David McCullough narration in your head. However, I was pleasantly surprised, after reading the first few pages of Mr. O'Brien's book, to have been quickly disabused of this notion. In short: This ain't your Daddy's history of the Presidents.

In Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents, O'Brien doles out the juicy Presidential dope in a witty, concise and hilariously irreverent style that is informative, yet exceptionally entertaining. From G.W. to G.W. Bush - with illuminating factoids and amusing anecdotes - Secret Lives paints a colorful picture of our nation's great (and not-so-great) leaders as being abundantly human and all too fallible. It's enough to make Mount Rushmore blush.

Well written, and beautifully (if not comically) illustrated, this book is a must for even a casual fan of American history. I highly recommend it to all!

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Entertaining Read...With NO Agenda, February 2, 2005
By E. N. Cook "linedrivehit" (Montgomery, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I found this book to be a very entertaining read about the men who have served our country as President. If you are looking for a serious history book, this is not it. But if you are looking to learn something about the men who have held the highest office in the land, and at the same time be entertained - this is a great book. I found it very interesting that several reviewers thought the author had an "agenda" or was "partisan". The amusing thing about these claims is that half the claims are from reviewers who think the author leaned to the left, and the other half from reviewers who thought he leaned to the right! How can the author be biased in BOTH directions?!? I can only assume that the reviewers who claimed bias in one way or the other are those that are either extremists to the right or left, and have a very biased opinion themselves. For instance, one reviewer writes that he "found this book to be biased toward the right, with nothing bad to say about George W. Bush's Iraq War" and "makes unproven, unsubstantiated claims about Bill Clinton..." Then another reviewer states that the "bias in regard to Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush begs for clarification or at least a recognition of the author's preference for left of center politics." I could list example after example. If you are an extreme righty or lefty, maybe you shouldn't read this book if you will get your feelings hurt. Otherwise, for the majority of the electorate that does not have blinders on and realizes that there is good and bad in everyone, including the Presidents, I highly recommend this book.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun pop history, January 13, 2004
By J. Rekulak (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This book emphasizes one very important lesson that high school history textbooks always seem to forget: our presidents were not only leaders but real people---flawed, neurotic, a little dishonest (sometimes), very insecure (a lot of the times!), and very, very human. O'Brien has dug up some truly fascinating trivia (Reagan applied for membership in the Communist Party as a young man...but was turned down!).

The illustrations are gorgeous--42 full-page portraits of every president in ridiculous or outlandish situations (they even show John Quincy Adams skinny-dipping in the Potomac). And the cover gimmick is icing on the cake (you can see George Washington peeking out through the star...when you open it up, he's actually drinking a mug of port...and clearly enjoying it). Highly Recommended.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Quick and easy history - and fun!
When we participate in a Presidential election, we're being asked to make a very important choice. We're electing someone to join a very powerful and elite group of men who have... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Chris Gladis

5.0 out of 5 stars worth reading
Very good book. It is informative, interesting and well-written. The author has a good sense of humor and keeps you reading.
Published 6 months ago by R. Theroux

5.0 out of 5 stars Secret Lives of US Presidents
This book (and the one about the Presidents wives)is totally engrossing! What a great way to reveal our Presidents human side!
Published 7 months ago by Debra Thomas-Blake

4.0 out of 5 stars Some secrets, some fun facts,
This is not your typical Presidents trivia and it's obviously not meant to be.

The author, O'Brien wanted this to be more amusing than the prim and proper... Read more
Published 8 months ago by JPGRfan

5.0 out of 5 stars Where's my stuff?
I ordered two (2) copies of Secret Lives of the US Presidents, which I never received. I did receive two copies of Radical Son by David Horowitz. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Kim B. Christie

5.0 out of 5 stars Knee-Jerk Reading
Nearly as interesting as this charming book was a read through its Amazon reviews. While SECRET LIVES is certainly praised herein, it's also lambasted for being too partisan left,... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Bart King

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative book but not very interesting.
When you think of secret lives of the the president you want to know all the dirt. Unfortunately this book does not deliver that. Read more
Published 17 months ago by H. Thompson

5.0 out of 5 stars Could Not Put This Book Down
This is the most interesting book that I have ever read. Perhaps that is because I like politics and our presidents. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Paul L. Fletcher

5.0 out of 5 stars Its a great gift
i bought this as a gift for someone who enjoys presidential history, it presents all of our country's presidents in a playful light and has lots and lots of facts that are... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Justin W. Harvey

2.0 out of 5 stars This book is boring!!!
I was anticipating some juicy tales to be revealed by this book only to find out the secret tale of John Quincy Adams was he liked to skiny-dip in the Potomac River? Read more
Published on May 28, 2007 by S. Wong

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