PRESIDENTS: All you need to know

by Carter Smith

The 2004 presidential election was an event of great interest, as you may have noticed. More and more, people all over the planet are paying attention to the office of “the most powerful man in the free world.” So we’ve made a book that will be the ultimate source book for answers to just about any question that you could ask about any president, past or present (to which you could reasonably expect an answer). We came up with a design that allows you find the information you need quickly and easily, and is also pleasing to the eye-no mean feat. We have a book that will tell you each president’s date of birth and death, place of education, religion, party, term in office, vice-president, cabinet, first lady, career-before and after office-and much more. There is a timeline of the presidency and of world events. There is an electoral map for each campaign, plus a list of opponents. There are quotes by the president, and about the president, both then and now; there are lists of bills passed; there are the successes, failures and indiscretions. There are rankings; there’s information on supporters and on enemies; quotes from famous or infamous speeches-really, anything you can think of. And if that isn’t enough we’ve included the complete text of every inaugural address. This book will become an invaluable resource for historians, students, history buffs, journalists, and as a family reference. With an introduction by Allen Weinstein, founder of the Center for Democracy, it carries the Smithsonian’s seal of approval.

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

Paperback

First published March 1, 2005

Reviews

[Richard Marcott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding reference book: easy access to President's terms, important events, members of cabinets, election campaigns, and much more. Great for researching what was happening at the time of you novel.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome resource with comprehensive overviews, timelines, and highlights of every President’s tenure in office. The content is obviously going to be pretty dry but this does a good job in keeping each highlight fairly succinct and interesting.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little mini-bio of each of the first 43 Presidents. Includes each Inaugural Address and many other interesting information.

[Belle Meade School]

973.09973332956

[Alan A · Rating 4 out of 5]

With many four-star reviews I've read before setting up my own, I find this to be a good book that gives general background information. You could think of it as a hand held compressed Wikipedia, but that's a gross oversimplification if taken too literally. I would honestly be convinced that if you were to work at the United States Capitol Tourism Industry, this book would be an awesome way of forming yourself in basic history to teach those who visit. I know for sure I had a lovely time with some of my tour guides there who were knowledgeable enough in United States history or at least kept entertaining conversations along the way.

I also really liked the addition of a time-line that outlines various episodes of impactful or important events to dialogues, disturbances, or simple background information that becomes relevant to the decisions of these presidential figures. Fine examples such as outlying the first U.S. Copyright Laws under Washington to talking about the controversial Alien and Sedation Acts under John Adams with all the more being chronologically ordered is something I enjoyed skimming through.

There will appear occasional windows with bulging titles such as 'SCANDAL' or the likes when there are particularly big episodes that are not covered too often or when the particular author, Carter Smith, thinks its a relevant event that made the persons presidency much more impactful.

It is a fact heavy book but the author tries to make the biography and character sheet describing the presidents presented in this book engaging while attempting not to take away necessary and important information which led up to their election or ascension to office. This, in my opinion, is a better way to present the figures who held office in a entertaining way than to just have mere information transfer through long lines of information.

Lastly the electoral college map that describes each election is a nice touch as well.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was able to appreciate that it was written from a purely informative standpoint and did not pick any favorite presidents. With that being said, the book is very basic. It highlights key events during each presidency and has every inaugural address given up to the date of publication, but does not delve into the presidents themselves. I was hoping to learn some eccentricities or more about their personal lives, but none is given. Definitely does not include 'all you need to know'. There are also a few glaring grammatical errors throughout the book as well.

With that being said, it is great for getting started in learning about the presidents, but don't look for really fun facts about each of their lives.

[Chad Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've skimmed through this a bit. One feature I really liked about it, besides the excellent organization of information from one president to the next, was the electoral maps for each presidential election and how many electoral votes each candidate got and from which states. That's something I haven't seen in other presidential fact books. Also I liked that it had the transcripts for all the inaugural addresses for each president in full.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this an excellent reference book for America's first 43 presidencies. It contains major bills and events and covers every election. It has one big issue though that really irked me. For every election, the book shows a map of how the states voted. But on many of the maps there are gross errors; be it the colors flipped (states that voted blue are shown in red and vice versa), or individual states that are sometimes shown voting for the candidate they did not vote for.

[Kristyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun book. Essentially, it is a time line of all the presidencies, highlighting major events. A great layout, as it reveals links between the different presidencies and major players that I didn't know existed. I feel smarter from reading it, which is how all books should make you feel.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good for a non-fiction read. I could actually follow when they talked about watergate and the other scandals (I have already forgotten what some were called) but when I read it I got it! Very well done - not text bookish at all.

[Nick Harriss · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Brit I found this an excellent introduction to the various American Presidents up to G W Bush. Each one gets a chronological description of the main events of their administration, building into a pretty solid socio-economic history of the USA.

[Chris Seltzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously, a book like this will always be out of date as time proceeds.

With that said, this is an exceptionally well-designed book and a great introduction to anyone curious about US history or US presidents.

It's informative, interesting, and the perfect balance of concise and deep.

[Andy Pullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just started this book but already it is amazing. Information on every President up till President George W. Bush. Includes all inaugural addresses in the back.

[Bebe Burnside · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great reference of all of our presidents and I will continue to look through it to remember interesting things about our past.

[Marguerite MacLean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just a perfect look at the Presidents up to the second Bush. Just a good back ground of the history and some major news events at the time.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for snapshots and speeches!