Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents

Rating:
Summary: Off-beat but never a false note...hilarious and revealing.
Review: As a marketing copywriter myself, I certainly understand the need to come up with a headline or title that draws the reader's attention and makes her want to dive in. But the corollary of this is that you actually have to pay off the tease by making the offer or topic worth the interest generated by the eye-catching headline. This book doesn't do that at all.

Far from delivering the goods on "the secret lives of the U.S. presidents," a more accurate title for this book would probably have been "Trivial facts about men you've probably never heard of anyway ... and if you *have* heard of them, then you've most likely already encountered this information, and so don't bother wasting your time here."

As someone who enjoys history and thinks it's important, and who has spent a lot of time studying the presidency and American presidents, it would be easy for me to go off on a rant about the National Enquirerization of history, with its focus on personality and scandal at the expense of anything of actual significance. I mean, what's the point of knowing John Tyler sired fifteen children if you've otherwise no idea who John Tyler is or why (or if) he matters?

But more relevant to this review are the author's rehashing of tired facts (the acknowledgements at the end thank several collections of presidential stories but give no evidence of actually covering any new ground), and his repeating already disproven stories. Compare, for example, O'Brien's flat statement that Thomas Jefferson fathered Sally Hemming's children with Barbara Holland's pages-long discussion, in her similar -- but generally better -- "Hail to the Chiefs" (2003) of the fact that DNA testing showed the children were sired by a Jefferson male but emphatically *not* Thomas Jefferson himself.

People who write chatty books dealing the dish on presidents often break down when they have to write about the Chief Executives they themselves remember, and Cormac O'Brien is no different. As other reviewers have noted, O'Brien's breezy objectivity fails him when it comes to writing about Nixon and (particularly) George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. It's like the entire rest of the book was a warm-up for the several pages in which he sneers at the 40th and 43rd presidents.

Maybe this book is good for a laugh or two, and it's always nice to pare down the monarchical pretensions of the modern presidency (regardless of the occupant of the office or his party) a bit. But if you're looking for a real understanding of the men who have served as president and their impact, or lack of one, on history -- anything other than just rehashed stories, superficial analysis, and predictable political bias -- I'd probably suggest about three dozen other titles ahead of this one.

Rating:
Summary: Hiliarious, even History Majors like it!
Review: I couldn't stop laughing! This was an awesome book with many true stories in it, presented with humorous illustrations into one great book. It is a quick read, you'll be through it in a hour or two at the most, but it's worth it! If anyone wants to start a collection to get Gerald Ford some Gas-Ex I'll help! LOL. : )

Rating:
Summary: author's agenda?
Review: I do not deny the skill of the author in writing an entertaining and amusing book,however his 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. Describing Al Gore as "light years" ahead of "W" intellectually.....Where was the mention of terrorism or Bin Laden in the Gore campaign? Where was the insightfulness of the "intellectual" who was privy to 8 years of the previous administration? Why did Gore perform so miserably during the debates? Please elaborate......... Why did Mr. Gore erroniously tell a single female with no children (during a Q & A portion of the debates) that her EIC benefits would increase in an Al Gore administration (policy wonk)? EIC is the Earned Income Credit that provides for single parents with children,(she had zero benefits, and could expect more of the same) Gore got away with that gaffe by all the news media but "W" is an idiot. Gore took the initiative to "invent" the internet? Does anyone really believe that? (Don't forget "W" is an idiot) Al Gore's rental properties resemble slave shacks but where is the reference to these documented complaints........Oh, I forgot "W" is an idiot. Al Gore spent a few weeks as a reporter in Viet Nam with bodyguards (provided by Al Gore Sr. Senator,D Tenn.) that no one else in his position or rank had the luxury of relying on, but being trained as a pilot(only an idiot could be a jet pilot,it takes genius to be a military reporter) in the Coast Guard is equal to desertion. Well yes, if you happen to be an idiot named George W. Bush.....Al Gore has more Oil stocks than "W" and his family has ties to Armond Hammer the Communist capitalist who was enamored with Joseph Stalin (noted compassionist, ask the Ukranians)yet gets a free pass in this book. But remember any idiot can get an MBA from Harvard, especially George W. Bush, unlike an intellectual like Al Gore flunking out of law school, now that takes a real genius, he was probably too heavy for his professors.Did I forget to mention "W" is an idiot? Joe Ferra P.S. The book is clever and enjoyable for the most part but the "conventional wisdom" is tedious, repetitive, boring and intellectually lazy. jf

Rating:
Summary: Very Entertaining Read...With NO Agenda
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: It's No Secret, This Book Rules!
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: Lack of research and analysis, or partisanship?
Review: It is a shame that this book could be read by young people. Unlike other reviewers, I found this book to be biased toward the right, with nothing bad to say about George W. Bush's Iraq War (perhaps the book was written before the results were in). In addition, Cormac makes unproven, unsubstantiated claims about Bill Clinton with respect to Gennifer Flowers and other scandals that have since been disproven. He needs to at least get his facts right. I do not recommend this book because of the lack of accuracy.

Rating:
Summary: this book is a 'presidential crash course'
Review: the nice thing about this book is it sums up the accomplishments and the failures of each president. consider the weird knacks of all the presidents a bonus to the other information. this book definately taught me all the basics and a little more on the U.S. presidents.

Rating:
Summary: Fun pop history
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Making History Fun
Review: This book is an encyclopedia of anedoctes about US presidents. Each president has 5 pages dedicated to himself. It is written in a fun way, you can just pick it up and read some info about the president you like or dislike, or just read it through like a regular novel. This is history the way i like it, it does not talk about the great achievements or failures of each president, it tells you about everyday stuff, about what made each of them just like everyone else. This book should be taught in high school, it would definitly make kids enjoy history. But really this book is for anyone who wants to learn about the little known facts of our past and present "leaders".

Rating:
Summary: Off-beat but never a false note...hilarious and revealing.
Review: This is a look at the Oval Office through the keyhole, showing the chief executives when they don't think anyone is watching, so to speak. It's a consistently fascinating, even hilarious glimpse of the presidents as human beings. If you pore through this book for a grand historical overview or election-influencing political bias, you're missing the point...and all the fun. And yet, in many ways I think this book tells us a great deal about the presidents that's well worth paying attention to, since personality does count. But mostly this book is a real political pleasure, badly needed in a time of partisan political poison.