Product Description
With scrupulous scholarship and engaging immediacy, The American Presidents illuminates the lives, times, and legacies of the 44 men who have shaped the office and our nation. This perennial best-seller is now completely up-to-date, including a full profile of the first African American commander-in-chief, President Barack Obama. Includes: * Close-up portraits capturing each president's trials and triumphs, ambitions and fears, battles with Congress, bold decisions, and haunting mistakes * At-a-glance tables highlighting key facts about the presidents and their terms, first ladies, vice presidents, presidential elections, cabinets, and political control of Congress * A sweeping tour of presidential historic sites, including the Eisenhower Center in Abilene, Kansas, and the Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth, Vermont * Timelines at the start of each section, which provide a brief overview of each president's major life events * Lively anecdotes revealing the influence of each man's childhood, education, and previous career on his style, successes, and missteps in office * Quotes from the presidents and reflections from their contemporaries and historians REVIEW ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A noble attempt at a huge subject matter
Obviously, the amount of data that could have been used in one book would be amazing. As a fan of studying the US Presidents, there wasn't much new information on these men but it's a great book for a 4-5 page summary on each president. It always good to refresh your memory on important facts and this book does that and with a person who might not have a lot of perspective of the presidents, this book is very valuable. He does spend much more time on the presidents from 1970 on vs. the early ones. I'm not sure why and there is a slight liberal stance for those who might be turned off by that a bit. In summary, a good summary.

review of "American Presidents"



"The American Presidents: arrived in a timely peroid. It is in excellentcondition Many thanks. ... Read more

Product Description
In this fascinating book of presidential profiles, you will meet the 42 men who have shaped the Presidency-and the course of our country. From George Washington to George W. Bush, here are the stories of their trials and triumphs, their ambitions and achievements. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

One of the better books covering the Presidents

We have been truly blessed with good men in the White House.Through the brilliant Constitution our founding fathers set up for our republic we emerged a country for all nations to envy.Through checks and balances we have created a system that works; it is at times not perfect, but there is none better.

Like any history book, "American Presidents" should not be used alone.It can not fulfill the task of evaluating the office of each of these men on its own.The author covers in detail each President's life growing up, offices held, as the executive and his achievements after the Oval Office.The vice president's, the cabinet, and historical sites are found at the end of the book.Photos are displaced throughout.One of the better books covering the Presidents.

I became increasingly interested in our Presidents, so I decide to research each one further, going as far as rating them.This is nothing new; there have been many such ratings done by scholars and intellectuals over the years.Of course I am neither.But I do find the ratings systems tend to focus on single merits and not the whole presidency.I have decided to do my own rating through these recourses:

"The American Presidents"-----Whitney
"A Patriot's History of the U.S."-----Schweikart and Allen
"The Oxford Companion to U.S. History"-----Boyer
"The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History"-----Woods
"Character"-----Wallace
"A Republic Not An Empire"-----Buchanan
and other misc. books

There is no way to fully list all of the positives and negatives of each Presidency.I have compiled a list of just a few of the important issues, then rated each according to the overall effect on the nation and the world.I admit bias cannot be removed totally.There will be some who will completely disagree with my system.You will find that I have lowered some who have been praised as great leaders and raised others that have been overlooked.

It can be hard to compare a Washington to a Bush, because these men lived at different times.The state of affairs and who they followed will have a major impact.I added W. Bush with reservation.His rating, along with the others are subject to change over time.In some cases I have added the same issue or attribute in both the pro and con column.Enjoy, take your time and feel free to comment:

After I copied and pasted I realized I could not fit the pros and cons on Amazon, so I deleted them.If any of you wish to have them you can write to me.


RatingPresident Held office Party
1George Washington1st 1789-97 Federalist

2Thomas Jefferson 3rd 1801-09 Democrat-Republican(new)

3Abraham Lincoln16th 1861-65Republican (first)

4Calvin Coolidge13th 1923-29Republican

5James Monroe 5th 1818-25 Democrat-Republican

6Ronald Reagan40th 1981-89Republican

7Grover Cleveland 22nd 1885-89Democrat
24th1893-97

8James Madison4th1809-17Democrat-Republican

9John Adams 2nd1797-1801Federalist

10 Warren Harding 29th1921-23 Republican

11 William McKinley 25th1897-1901 Republican

12 Rutherford Hays19th1877-81 Republican

13 George W. Bush 43rd 2001-Republican

14 Dwight Eisenhower34th1953-61 Republican

15 Andrew Jackson 7th1829-37Democrat (first)

16 George H.W. Bush 41st1989-93 Republican

17 Chester Arthur 21st1881-85 Republican

18 Andrew Johnson 17th1865-69 Unionist (only)

19 Franklin Pierce14th1853-57 Democrat

20 Gerald Ford38th1974-77 Republican

21 Richard Nixon37th 1969-74Republican

22 James Polk 11th1845-49 Democrat

23 Martin Van Buren 8th 1837-41 Democrat (father of)

24 Harry Truman 33rd 1945-53Democrat

25 John Kennedy 35th1961-63 Democrat

26 Theodore Roosevelt 26th1901-09 Republican

27 James Garfield 20th1881Republican

28 John Tyler 10th1841-45 Whig

29 Benjamin Harrison23rd1889-93 Republican

30 John Quincy Adams6th1825-29Coalition (mix)

31 James Buchanan 15th1857-61 Democrat

32 Franklin Roosevelt 32nd1933-45 Democrat

33 Herbert Hoover 31st1929-33 Republican

34 Jimmy Carter 39th1977-81 Democrat

35 Woodrow Wilson 28th1913-21 Democrat

36 Lyndon Johnson 36th1963-69 Democrat

37 Zachary Taylor 12th1849-50 Whig

38 William Clinton42nd1993-2001 Democrat

39 William Harrison 9th1841 whig (first)

40 Ulysses Grant18th1869-77 Republican

41 William Taft 27th1909-13 Republican

42 Millard Fillmore 13th1850-53 Whig (last)

THE AMERICAN PRESIDENTS
THIS IS A WONDERFUL OVERVIEW OF THE AMERICAN PRESIDENTS, AND QUITE ACCURATE.I HAVE READ BIOGRAPHIES OF MOST PRESIDENTS, VISITED MOST PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES, AND THOUGHT DAVID WHITNEY DID A GREAT JOB ON THIS SERIES.

Excellent book
This is an excellent book. It is great for people beginning to learn about American politics. It's a great source for quick handy reminders. It's a great gift. ( I bought seven copies for that reason). This would be a great book for teachers to have their high school students study.
While it is not possible to have one book completely cover all the Presidents, this single volumn outlines many important events.
There is an index in the back for quick searches.
Political views?
I have heard people claim this book is written with a Republican slant, and other claim it's written with a Democratic slant!
Using the above paragraph, one would have to think it was pretty fairly written.
I have went back to this book more often, during the election season, to brief my memory.

As a single volumn book; I repeat, this is an excellent book.

Scholarly accuracy and appealing informality
U.S. history, the government, and personae of American Presidents is a fascinating subject. While many scholarly work in the market have done in-depth investigation to profile American presidents, this title by David C Whitney and Robin Vaughn Whitney in its 9th edition from Reader's Digest is classically written and readily accessible to the general audience. Its objectivity and candor serves well as a gentle and educational introduction, an abridged version, on the development of American Presidents in relation to the unfolding drama of U.S. history.

The perennial best-seller, an enjoyable reading, excels in its elegance and clarity in comparison to many (auto)biographies of modern day C(orporate)EO/leadership titles. ... Read more

Product Description
Biographies of American Presidents from George Washington to Richard Nixon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Wonderful book, very informative
This is a very well-written book with lots of imformation.More photos would very much enhance a fine book.

a must have
This book is a must have for every American citizen and anyone who wants to become one. It briefly gives the basic biographies and accomplisments of each of our presidents. And it is updated after each election to keep up with our leaders. Great book. A nice starting place for better understanding the men who have led our country.

A VERY HANDY AND INTERESTING BOOK TO HAVE AROUND
This is one of those volumes you might want to add to your collection in that is is quite informative and quite concise.It covers the American Presidents from Washington through Clinton.Each section is devoted to one president.Each section leads with a selection of information such as birthdays, former employment or profession, their political careers, date of death and years served as President.Each then is given a short biography, well written, I might add, and summation of their administration.There are photographs throughout the book of each of these men.The first ladies are addressed and little interesting facts thrown in here and there. Each of these short chapters is not, of course, ment to be the beginning and end of all presidential biographies, they only present brief facts.These facts are given is such a way though, that you actually learn something.I like biographies.By having a brief sketch like this book offers, I am more able to make up my mind which full lenght biographies might interest me and which I might not like as well.As an example, I could care less about reading a biography of James Buchanan, but do like to know a bit about him.This book offers as much as I really wish to know.David Whitney had given us a very nice bit of helpful work here.Recommend this one highly.

PresidentialCompendium?
This is a great reference book about past presidents of the United States.Full of mini biographies and chronological listings of their accomplishments etc.I don't think we know enough about the character of the leaders of our country and how they shaped it to be what it is today.

An excellent reference book of American Presidents
Clear, compact and concise reference book of all the American Presidents. The main section of this book devotes a few pages on each President (from the 1st to the 42nd) with historical facts, dates and places. A smallsection at the back, lists such things as key facts about each Presidentand Vice-President, the First Ladies and all Presidential Elections; alsofor anyone interested in the making of the Presidency or intend visitingpresidential historic sites. A must on any book shelf for those interestedin American Presidential history. ... Read more

Product Description
Published by The World Publishing Company ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Side by Side Comparison
The Amazon customer reviews (Average 2 stars at this writing) surprised me. I think the book deserves a better rating. It's not perfect, but it adds insight to a crowded field of books about the Civil War period.

After reading all the reviews, I realized I was looking for something different than most reviewers. Two American Presidents is primarily a political book, not a war book. My interests are political leadership and the constitutional structure of both the Confederacy and the Union. In 1787, the Federal Convention (now called the Constitutional Convention) fought the hardest over two issues: slavery, and the presidential term and whether the president could be reelected. The Confederate and Union constitutions were very similar except that the South adopted the losing 1787positions on both of these issues. Did these changes make a difference in the prosecution of the war anddid either give one of the political leader an advantage?

This book didn't directly answer the question, but it gave me some additional information and insight so I could draw my own conclusion. I believe both of these governmental structural changes worked to the Union's advantage.

The other reason I read this book was to get a better picture of the leadership capabilities of these two men. Chadwick added to our information in this area by directly comparing the two presidents.The Kirkus Review under Editorial Reviews above states "Chadwicks unapologetic reversion to the Great Man theory of history will not impress professional historians, who have long since attributed to other causes--superior firepower, control of the seas--the eventual Union victory over the secessionists."

I believe leadership does matter--and matters greatly. For example, I can't imagine
Buchanan winning the War Between the States. Great men and women do inspire others to accomplish great things. Someone must agree with me that Lincoln was a great man because Amazon lists over 50,000 books about Abraham Lincoln.
The Shut Mouth Society
The Shopkeeper

Two American Presidents
I can make this short and sweet. This book is trash. Chadwick should stick to journalism or fiction and leave history to the historians. Definitely a lack of research or knowledge about either of the subjects. I read about 1/3 of the book and placed it in file 13.

Good read, interesting
As the subtitle says, this is a dual biography of US President Lincoln and Confederate President Jefferson Davis.The book is arranged so that equivalent periods of time are presented in consecutive chapters (eg childhood of Lincoln, then childhood of Davis, etc) with the emphasis, of course, on the Civil War years.

I found this book to be an easy read, despite several typos and some awkward syntax.There were not very many slow spots, but it never really took off, either.I am barely more than a casual Civil War buff, so I found much of the book informative.However, a more serious enthusiast may not gleam much (s)he doesn't already know.Chadwick takes pains to point out how the one-party system (which breeds factionalism) of the Confederate government limited Davis' power and effectiveness, while the North's two-party system allowed Lincoln to be much more effective; an interesting concept I hadn't thought of before.I also thought Chadwick's assessment of Northern and Southern attitudes was right on the mark (with one exception: I can't see fiercely independent poor southerners blindly following the rich planters just because "well, they're rich, they must know what's right").

I would recommend this book for those who have more than just a passing interest in the Civil War.

Beware This Book!
It seemed like such a good concept -- parallel bios of the two great antagonists of the Civil War.However, after a promising beginning, this book becomes so wildly inaccurate and in parts so "Oliver Stone-ish" that I personally will submit my copy for recycling rather than allow anyone else to read it.Some errors are errors of detail (the General commanding the Confederate troops on Marye's Heights at Fredericksburg was James Longstreet, not "Stonewall" Jackson).Some are chronological.Chadwick places Jackson's Shenandoah Valley Campaign after the Seven Days' battles, where in reality it was the indispensible prelude.Sometimes the chronology becomes so muddled that events seem to occur twice.The way the text reads, it seems that Union General John Pope was beaten at Second Bull Run twice.And can anyone truly imagine Salmon Chase leading Union forces in the field?

I was particularly disturbed by the assertion that Ohio "Peace Democrat" Clement Vallandigham was arrested on President Lincoln's authority.Every other source I've ever seen asserts that General Burnside acted without any authority other than his own, and that he quickly received orders to arrest no other politicians and suppress no more newspapers without consulting Washington first.What evidence did Chadwick find that eluded Allen Nevins, Shelby Foote, and Stephen B. Oates (to name but three)?

When Chadwick comes to the Kilpatrick/Dahlgren raid to Richmond, things get very worrisome for anyone who's read much Civil War history (and I have).No one else that I have have read has ever asserted that the raid's purported goal of killing or kidnapping Jefferson Davis and/or other members of his administration was authorized by Abraham Lincoln himself.What evidence has Chadwick unearthed that hundreds if not thousands of other historians had never found?In addition, Chadwick is the only author that I have read that flatly pronounces the papers purportedly found on Ulric Dahlgren's body genuine.All others have at least acknowledged the possibility that they were forgeries.Robert E. Lee cautioned Jefferson Davis not to act on the discovery of the orders, stating that there were good reasons to doubt their authenticity.(For the record, incidently, Judson Kilpatrick's not-too-flattering nickname was "Kill Cavalry", not "Kill Patrick".)

I gave up on this book at page 340.My time is too precious to waste it on conspiritorial pseudo-history.I'll bet yours is , too.

Mediocre Bio of Davis, Mediocre Bio of Lincoln
Where's the Beef?

With all of the attention lavished by historians on Abraham Lincoln, and with the growing number of works on Jefferson Davis, it is curious that there have been so few comparative studies of the two men. Aside from Bruce Catton's Two Roads To Fort Sumter (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963), and a few scattered articles and monographs, no scholar of the Civil War has attempted a comprehensive, systematic comparison of Lincoln and Davis. Bruce Chadwick has attempted to fill this hole with The Two American Presidents.

As the title suggests, this is a dual biography, a two-track narrative which switches back and forth between Lincoln's and Davis's stories. These twin narratives are not bad history in the sense of being inaccurate or sloppy. Chadwick wrote competently and with occasional dramatic flair, he made good use of the available primary sources, and he utilized an impressive amount of newspaper research. A casual reader without much prior knowledge of the Civil War could read The Two American Presidents and come away with a basic understanding of each man's life and career.

But Chadwick really unearthed nothing new about either man; his book is for the most part merely a pedestrian rehashing of oft-told tales. His story of Lincoln follows the standard arc which one could find in a dozen other biographies: Lincoln the savvy politician and prairie lawyer with the large measure of common sense who is smarter than most everyone around him, and who is dedicated to finding a pragmatic means to the idealistic end of killing slavery and establishing a new birth of freedom. Likewise, Chadwick's Jefferson Davis is not very original: he is the Calhounian planter and Mexican war hero who never questions slavery; a principled yet rigid man who relentlessly pursues Confederate victory but is hobbled by serious character flaws and political ineptitude. Chadwick's narrative is sprightly, but in the end this is still old wine in a new bottle. It is so old, in fact, that I found very little material worthy of substantive criticism; hence the brevity of this review.

According to the book's dust jacket, Chadwick argues that "one of several reasons why the North won and the South lost can be found in the drastically different characters of the two presidents." This is perhaps a reasonable--though by no means foregone--conclusion. It is not the "fascinating new perspective" and "startling answers" the book's jacket claims; Davis Potter made this exact argument forty years ago in a widely read essay which Chadwick does not cite (see Potter, "Jefferson Davis and the Political Factors of Confederate Defeat," in David Donald, ed., Why the North Won the Civil War [New York: Collier, 1960]).

But where does Chadwick draw these conclusions, let alone support them with evidence? I have quoted the book jacket at some length because in 490 pages of text I was unable to locate anything resembling an actual argument. The Two Presidents is a comparative study with no substantive comparative analysis. Chadwick seems to have assumed that the mere placing of a mediocre biography of Davis and a mediocre biography of Lincoln within the same cover somehow constitutes an "argument," an original contribution. It does not.

Chadwick somehow missed the point of his own book. The only value such a study might possess would lie in the new light it shed on either Lincoln and Davis themselves, or on larger subjects -- presidential leadership, for example -- which are illuminated by but transcend the two men's individual stories. Chadwick did neither, and in the end wrote a book which is of little real value to serious scholars of Lincoln, Davis or the Civil War.

Reviewed by Brian Dirck, Assistant Professor of History, Anderson University . Published by H-South (September, 2000)

Copyright © 2000, H-Net, all rights reserved. This work may be copied for non-profit educational use if proper credit is given to the author and the list. For other permission questions, please contact hbooks@h-net.msu.edu. ... Read more

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Biographies of American Presidents from George Washington through George H.W. Bush (Sr.) ... Read more

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