Don't Know Much About the American Presidents

Don't Know Much About

by Kenneth C. Davis

From the ancients who charted the stars, to Jules Verne and Flash Gordon, to The X-Files, Apollo 13, and Armageddon, people around the world have long been intrigued with the heavens and outer space. Don't Know Much About the Universe, the fifth title in this bestselling series, uses the now-familiar and popular question-and-answer format to inform and entertain listeners by examining a subject that has inspired the greatest of fascinations, produced many popular misconceptions, and, ultimately, helped to shape the course of history. Like other books in the series,Don't Know Much About the Universe integrates diverse subjects and ideas, touching on everything from Geography to Cosmic Theology to the impact of the Space Race on American history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Politics, Presidents, American History, Audiobook

Hardcover

First published December 24, 2001

About the author

Kenneth C. Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of the Don't Know Much About® series of books and audios for adults and children. Don't Know Much About® History, the first title in the series, became a New York Times bestseller in 1991 and remained on the paperback list for 35 consecutive weeks. It has since been revised several times and now has more than 1.6 million copies in print. The 30th anniversary edition of the book was published with a new preface, "From an Era of Broken Trust to an Era of Broken Democracy."

Davis is, according to Publishers Weekly, "a go-to guy for historical insight and analysis."

AMERICA'S HIDDEN HISTORY also became a New York Times bestseller. A NATION RISING also uses dramatic narratives to tell the "stories your textbooks left out." His book, THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF AMERICA AT WAR (May 5, 2015) was called "searing" analysis by Publishers Weekly.

Kenneth C. Davis’s success aptly makes the case that Americans don’t hate history, just the dull version they slept through in class. Davis’s approach is to refresh us on the subjects we should have learned in school. He does it by busting myths, setting the record straight, and always remembering that fun is not a four-word letter word.

His IN THE SHADOW OF LIBERTY: THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF SLAVERY, FOUR PRESIDENTS, AND FIVE BLACK LIVES looks at the lives of five people enslaved by four of America's most famous Presidents and the role of slavery in American history and the presidency. In May 2018, MORE DEADLY THAN WAR: The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and the First World War was published.

STRONGMAN: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy was published by Holt. It was named among the best books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews and the Washington Post.

In November 2022 GREAT SHORT BOOKS: A Year of Reading--Briefly was published by SCribner. A compendium of 58 great short works Davis read during the pandemic lock down, it is a joyous celebration of reading.

Coming in October 2024 is THE WORLD IN BOOKS: 52 WORKS OF GREAT SHORT NONFICTION. It is an accessible and comprehensive guide to some of the most influential and important works of nonfiction, from the earliest days of writing to contemporary times. Each entry includes information about the writers behind these consequential books and the time in which they lived.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book portends to be historical but it is nothing more than
Liberal-biased media. For the reviews of the most recent presidents, the author's analysis is superficial. He has simply taken the spin of the liberal media and regurgitated it as fact. Yuck!

[Robert Sparrenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

President trivia gslore !

A look at all 44 presidents at the time it was written. The author goes through the highs and lows of each person pointing out what happened during their terms. He also gives them a grade and explains why. As a serious fan of presidents biographies, I feel his grades are fair. Several reviews were angry with the grades. I disagree.
If you are looking for cocktail party level information on different presidents, this is a good place to go.

[Brandon Washington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book very informing but not too hard a read

[Jon Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given the current climate in the political sphere in the United States of America at the current time it may often feel that we don’t know much about the current President; indeed he often doesn’t know himself. The reason for such strong feeling on both sides of the political rainbow comes down to what the world (not just Americans) perceives of the American President in the zeitgeist. Seen as the leader of the world’s biggest super power; a global presence which resonates authority and poise. Diplomacy at its highest echelons and a symbol of democracy and independence for the rest of the world to admire.

It wasn’t always the case and it is worth reflecting on where the idea of the American Presidency came about, how it was created and who the framers of the original constitution were; which is held so dear.

Kenneth C. Davis is an American historian who has released numerous ‘Don’t Know Much About …’ titles, from books on the 50 states to the solar system and even Kings and Queens of England. While they do retain the air of a high school text book, Davis has been able to bring to life the various times each President experienced and provide some context behind the big decisions. He even goes so far to dole out a grade to each as if taking marks on the performance of each.

Much time is spent rolling back the clock to set the scene in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787 as the founding fathers were grappling with creating a democratic process which would survive the test of time.

From the anointment of George Washington to midway through Barak Obama’s second term in office, Davis walks us through the key decisions each man (and it’s always been a man) must face and the repercussions of each. Hindsight provides a nice scope in which to assess the success or otherwise of each decision and Davis scores one over the other.

For the avid American history buff there is too little time to really drop into any depth and the book races along at such a pace that three or four failed and inconsequential presidencies can race by before you realise that we are suddenly 25 years on and about to head into the stories of one of the big guns; a Lincoln, Kennedy or Nixon term. Much more value would have been forthcoming if Davis would have added a little more colour and flavour to the life behind the oval office.

This book is a nice compendium and resource for the factual timeline of the history of the most powerful man on earth, but it rarely strays from the black & white chronology and into the minds of the 44 (at the time of writing; Trump is 45) men who have had to face down some of the world’s biggest decisions.

[Heather C · Rating 4 out of 5]

After having enjoyed the initial installment of the Don’t Know Much About… series I was excited to read Kenneth C. Davis’ take on the American Presidents. Davis breaks his narrative down into three major sections: The Making of the President; Presidential Profiles; and What Should We Do With the President?. The first section focuses on what the Constitutional framers intended the role of the President to be (or not be). The second, and admittedly where the bulk of the book takes place, is a look at each individual President and a grading/ranking of their place in American history. The final section is a wrap up that looks at where the role of the President goes from here. A complete, well-rounded view of the presidency.

The first and final sections were utterly forgettable – honestly, I didn’t pay any attention to these sections. The main action transpires in the individual biographies of the Presidents, from George Washington up through the first term of Barack Obama. If you have read widely within the Presidential biography realm, there wasn’t much new material presented here; a general scope of their presidencies. What was interesting for me was to read about some history that I have actually lived through with regard to the late 1980’s through the present. There were some great appendices presented at the back of the book as well. Short on time? Check out the Milestones in each President’s life at the beginning of each chapter or the Milestones in the Presidency of each Presidents as the chapter wrap up.

Davis presents his content in his traditional, easy to digest, question and answer format. Ultimately if you are in the market to learn a little something about each of the Presidents, this could be the book for you.

The three narrators were presented in the same manner as his prior book. There is one narrator for the questions, one for the answers, and a third who reads the other material. This worked well for the style of the material being presented and the change of narration kept it from being monotonous.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good summary of each President. Thought the writer was a bit to bias against some Presidents over others. Was'nt neutral. Knew pretty fast what party he belonged to. I felt the disgust in the way he wrote about certain Presidents. And the pleasure about others!

[Nathan Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few months ago, I made the first of several statements to the effect that Trump is the least-presidential president we've ever had. And I realized that I really didn't know enough to say that. So I figured maybe I should fact-check myself.

Davis presents an introduction to the office of the President and how it came to be as defined in the Constitution, ends with the relevant articles and amendments to the Constitution and some discussion. In between, we get a veritable parade of presidents, their lives, their administrations, and their accomplishments and failures.

I like to think I learned a lot, even if it had to percolate and even if it demands a refresher or three.
With just one chapter on each president, the book is an overview. Witness the gargantuan stack of books written about Abraham Lincoln alone--and if you visit Ford's Theatre in DC, you really should take a look at that thing; it's seriously impressive and intimidating. And I wonder how the author decided which information to include and which to exclude. While he defends the grades he assigns to each president, I also wonder if he might have weighted some aspects of the given man's administration a bit too heavily and some a bit too lightly.
I do have to keep in mind that this book represents just one historian's opinions of our presidents. But he does make many good points.
I read this on audiobook from the library. But I'd like to find a hard-copy, especially if there's an updated edition including Trump's first term.
Any student of American history won't go wrong with this one.
But did I answer my own question? I'd like to think so and...I'll leave it to you to answer it for yourself.

[Stephen Hoogerhyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're going to read a book about the US presidents, make it this one. Very approachable, very comprehensive, well-researched, and contains a ton of facts about the men who have served in the highest executive position in the US government. The book includes a chapter on each president (even William Henry Harrison, who only served 30 days). Each of the chapters include: milestones of the president's life, quotes from him and about him, "fast facts" (some of these are really interesting), an introduction to him, a narrative of his term as president (focusing on events and issues of note), milestones of his administration, a list of must read books (tremendously helpful if you are interested in reading a full-length biography of the man), and a list of online resources.

The book also contains essays about the creation of the office, an essay with thoughts about how the office has evolved, and appendices covering parts of the Constitution relevant to the presidency, the order of presidential succession, and which presidents (and others) are on coins and currency.

If you read a chapter a day, you will be amazed at how quickly you progress through the book. I found it fascinating that the men seemingly most qualified for the office coming in usually did a terrible job (think Andrew Johnson), and those marginally qualified often did an outstanding job (think Lincoln). Now I definitely want to read full-length biographies of a number of the presidents.

I would have given the book 5 stars, but I'm a really tough grader.

["Cyril' (David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent Book. A liberal bias is present, but I appreciate the fact that he gave Reagan an A...shows an effort to be fair. He also rated Clinton (B) lower than I did (A -). Some ratings I would question: George Dubya F, LBJ B, Wilson A, Andrew Jackson A, and he gave FDR A+ (though I disagree, I certainly understand that rating).

He also SOMETIMES seemed to hit on trivial things, though admittedly most of them possibly were for humorous effect. One trivial thing he emphasized that seemed ridiculous to me was the Dubya "Mission Accomplished" speech. To include that in a short summary of the Bush presidency and use it to justify a low grade would be akin to a conservative using Obama's 57 state comment for the same purpose... Furthermore, in context the mission he was referring to in the speech WAS accomplished. So whereas Obamas goof was atually wrong (though no one in his right mind would think that Obama did not know how many states there were), Bushes statement was true, albeit an optical gaff.

Overall, however, it was an excellent book. Am going to see him again later today at a talk at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum. Having seen him talk earlier on his best book (in my opinion), In the Shadow of Liberty, I am excited to see his Presidents presentation.

[Jock Mcclees · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was an overview of all of the presidents. It also ranked them. For ones I was familiar with and had read books about, I generally agreed. An exception was Grant. I felt Davis underrated him. It was an interesting look at the presidents and what was happening historically at the time and how that affected them and how they affected history. So it was a history of the US as well as of the presidents.

Perhaps the most fascinating part of the book was the beginning. Davis went over the discussions of the founders in how to structure the government. How there was no concept of a Presidency as it is today. After all, for the first 100+ years, we weren't a super power that the world looked to. Washington and the following presidents had to figure out what the Presidency was. Some along the way looked to change it, to give it more power or other changes.

[Jimyanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of short biographies of each of the American presidents, detailing their terms of office, special accomplishments and failures, giving a "grade" from A+ to F for their presidencies, and a quick timeline of their time in office. As far as it goes, it's excellent, but as its copyright is 2012, it only takes us halfway through Barack Obama's term of office, and as a result gives him a grade of "incomplete". It obviously has nothing on either Donald Trump or Joe Biden, and will get more out of date as more time passes. Perhaps later editions will continue to fill in where this one left off. It also has several appendices after the last of the bios, including one that details the order of succession if the president is unable to finish his term.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is near impossible to write a historical book without bias, and this is no exception. That aside, on the whole it gives a nice summary of each president, their tenure in the office and some world events in the era each served. This book brings the highest office in the United States to a human level and shows the strengths and weaknesses of reach president and the weight of what that office brings with it. It is a reminder of the old adage "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely." Or, as a more recent movie is quoted, "with great power comes great responsibility." We would each do well to consider the complexities of each of us, and humanity as a whole, and ask ourselves: What would I do with the weight of the world on our shoulders, and every eye looking at us constantly?

[Varrick Nunez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked much of the content on the presidents, although not much was new to me, particularly since 1952.

I did not like how the recording was done. The disks don't say when the recording is done for that CD and should rather notify the listener to change the discs out. I had to pay really close attention to the actual words said at the start of a disk were and listen for that phrasing. Further, the producers frequently interrupted the narrative with footnotes, highlights, and timelines; the numerous interruptions were unhelpful and disrupted the narrative.

[Tonya Lowery St. John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few years back I set out to read about book about or by each of the American presidents as a different way better understand history. I have pecked at the project but some presidents are easier than others. This was a nice, concise as possible, overview with some interesting anecdotes and sides stories thrown in.
Interestingly, with all that is going on in our current presidency, I really enjoyed the refresher on the Constitution at the end.

[Stephen Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this comprehensive review of the U.S. presidents. However the brevity of the descriptions left me wanting more for a number of the men who held this office. I did find the author's grading of each one interesting even though I might have graded some of them differently.

[Jim Vander Maas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A synopsis of every president. It has got me started on reading more in depth Presidential Biographies. A good reference for knowing something about the lesser known Presidents. Not something you will read cover to cover.

[Mhorg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

A quick, well written, interesting look at the US presidents, right up to Obama. Written for the Everyman, it's a short, good look at the important officials. Recommended.

[Jennifer Oppenheimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was so interesting learning about each one of our presidents. It also felt like a quick review of American history. Although I didn’t completely agree with the author’s summation of our most recent presidents, taken as a whole, it was great.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this, terrific read giving short, pithy overviews and factoids about each of the 44 presidents through Obama. I’ve read several others by Davis and they are all great. Entertaining and informative.

[Jquick99 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a very fair & balanced view of the Presidents. I know a lot about all of them, and even learned a few things.

I only thing I knew that was wrong, was that the author said James Garfield was a former Speaker of the House. He wasn’t.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great overview of the Presidents, and their places in history. It moves fast, but gives enough depth that it can be used as a resource, or a starting point for more in depth learning. Like the other Don't Know Much About... Books, it is a great way to what your appetite.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview. Lots of fun weird history (i.e. John Quincy Adams skinny dipping in the Potomac every morning) mixed in with the depressing stuff (Trail of Tears, Hiroshima, etc.) Listening to this helped me to FINALLY learn all the presidents in order.

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a bit too deep or me to really enjoy. It certainly tells a lot about the Presidents, but I wanted more to learn about their personalities, not just what they accomplished, or didn't, in the office. This was more political than I wanted to read.

[Ethnea Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book was really long - I skipped a lot of the Prresidents - I read about the early Presidents then I skipped to the Presidents from Rosevelt on to the more "modern" Presidents. The book only went into the 1st term of Obama.

[AnnieM · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good basic intro to all the presidents. Well except for this one.

[Sue Whitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read this book, you'll know a lot more about the presidents. Contains reminders of what you learned in history (class or by experience) and revelations of some things you missed.

[Brad Harju · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything you need to know about the Presidents through Obama.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good informative book, if a little dry. Covers until midway through Obama's presidency.

[Widad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found thé necessary informations i needed

[Shawn Aebi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for kids; has some of the darker stories.