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Dead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of Our Nation's Leaders
An entertaining exploration into the death stories of our nation’s greatest leaders—and the wild ways we choose to remember and memorialize them.
In Dead Presidents, public radio host Brady Carlson takes readers to presidential gravesites, monuments, and memorials to tell the death stories of our greatest leaders. Mixing biography and travelogue, Carlson explores whether William Henry Harrison really died of a cold, why Zachary Taylor’s remains were exhumed 140 years after his death, and how what killed James A. Garfield wasn’t an assassin’s bullet. He tells the surprising stories of the Washington Monument, Mount Rushmore, and Grant’s Tomb. And he explains why “Hooverball” is still played in Iowa, why Millard Fillmore’s final resting place is beside that of funk legend Rick James, and why Ohio and Alaska continue to battle over the name of Mt. McKinley.
With an eye for neglected places and offbeat people reminiscent of Tony Horwitz and Sarah Vowell, Carlson shows that the ways we memorialize our presidents reveal as much about us as about the men themselves.
In Dead Presidents, public radio host Brady Carlson takes readers to presidential gravesites, monuments, and memorials to tell the death stories of our greatest leaders. Mixing biography and travelogue, Carlson explores whether William Henry Harrison really died of a cold, why Zachary Taylor’s remains were exhumed 140 years after his death, and how what killed James A. Garfield wasn’t an assassin’s bullet. He tells the surprising stories of the Washington Monument, Mount Rushmore, and Grant’s Tomb. And he explains why “Hooverball” is still played in Iowa, why Millard Fillmore’s final resting place is beside that of funk legend Rick James, and why Ohio and Alaska continue to battle over the name of Mt. McKinley.
With an eye for neglected places and offbeat people reminiscent of Tony Horwitz and Sarah Vowell, Carlson shows that the ways we memorialize our presidents reveal as much about us as about the men themselves.
324 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2016
105 people are currently reading
2736 people want to read
About the author
Brady Carlson
1 book32 followersBrady Carlson is a reporter and on-air host for Wisconsin Public Radio, formerly of New Hampshire Public Radio. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin with his family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 305 reviews
June 14, 2018
Dead Presidents combines two of my favorite subjects; death & Presidential history. Yes guys I'm huge nerd and I'm super morbid. Deal with it!
Dead Presidents is not only tells you about how Presidents died but more importantly and interestingly it explores how our opinions of certain Presidents changed over time. Some Presidents like Ulysses S. Grant and Woodrow Wilson were very popular in their lifetimes but have faded as time has past. Others like Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson's popularity seems to be increasing the further away from their terms we get.
I was most fascinated by the more obscure Presidents like Millard Fillmore(who by the way I forgot was a President) who's own biographer called "an uninspiring man" and Franklin Pierce who's own home of state New Hampshire took 100 years to honor him in anyway.
It was also quite interesting to see how changes in society effect the legacies of Presidents, until fairly recent times Andrew Jackson ranked high on Presidential popularity list but now not so much.
I was mostly surprised by to learn how many Presidents died poor and broken men. Now a days Former Presidents make millions of dollars and have much more of an impact in their post White House years. Honoring and celebrating our ex Presidents is very modern, for years unless you were a Founding Father or Abraham Lincoln nobody cared about a President once he left office.
Dead Presidents is entertaining, fact filled and fun. This book isn't just for nerdy boring history buffs like me, even the most casual reader would enjoy this book.
2018 Popsugar Reading Challenge: A book with song lyrics in the title.
Dead Presidents is not only tells you about how Presidents died but more importantly and interestingly it explores how our opinions of certain Presidents changed over time. Some Presidents like Ulysses S. Grant and Woodrow Wilson were very popular in their lifetimes but have faded as time has past. Others like Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson's popularity seems to be increasing the further away from their terms we get.
I was most fascinated by the more obscure Presidents like Millard Fillmore(who by the way I forgot was a President) who's own biographer called "an uninspiring man" and Franklin Pierce who's own home of state New Hampshire took 100 years to honor him in anyway.
It was also quite interesting to see how changes in society effect the legacies of Presidents, until fairly recent times Andrew Jackson ranked high on Presidential popularity list but now not so much.
I was mostly surprised by to learn how many Presidents died poor and broken men. Now a days Former Presidents make millions of dollars and have much more of an impact in their post White House years. Honoring and celebrating our ex Presidents is very modern, for years unless you were a Founding Father or Abraham Lincoln nobody cared about a President once he left office.
Dead Presidents is entertaining, fact filled and fun. This book isn't just for nerdy boring history buffs like me, even the most casual reader would enjoy this book.
2018 Popsugar Reading Challenge: A book with song lyrics in the title.
February 7, 2019
Some Presidents are more interesting dead than alive and if you don't believe it, read this entertaining look of the after-the-White House whereabouts and posthumous adventures of the former chief executives. It is funny without being morbid or demeaning to the subjects and you might be surprised to learn that Zachary Taylor was exhumed 150 years after his burial to determine his cause of death. Or that Franklin Pierce didn't even have a statue in his home town until 45 years after his demise.
The author begins the book at the beginning with the death of George Washington and the attempt to erect a memorial statue in the nation's capital. The said statue was, to say the least, terrible and tasteless and was moved several times before it found a hiding place in the Smithsonian. It was replaced by the now iconic Washington Monument which stood unfinished for years before completion.
The author visited all the resting places of the late presidents and has short anecdotes about each which are humorous and sometimes moving The section regarding the continuing attempts of the descendants of Thomas Jefferson and his slave, Sally Hemings, to be recognized is particularly affecting. Lots of trivia, some political comments, and generally a very informative read.
The author begins the book at the beginning with the death of George Washington and the attempt to erect a memorial statue in the nation's capital. The said statue was, to say the least, terrible and tasteless and was moved several times before it found a hiding place in the Smithsonian. It was replaced by the now iconic Washington Monument which stood unfinished for years before completion.
The author visited all the resting places of the late presidents and has short anecdotes about each which are humorous and sometimes moving The section regarding the continuing attempts of the descendants of Thomas Jefferson and his slave, Sally Hemings, to be recognized is particularly affecting. Lots of trivia, some political comments, and generally a very informative read.
January 28, 2016
I was a good reads first reads winner of this book. This one about presidents takes a rather different path. It focuses on the deaths of the presidents. it offers some very interesting thoughts about what became of the presidents after they have died. Where were they buried? What memorials were devoted to them? How about the presidents relatives? Most know about the more known presidents such as Washington, Lincoln.Kennedy, Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt. I like that this book also mentions the lesser known presidents. Some of the chapters talks about how the presidents died. what their tombstones look like. Where are the tombstones or memorials. I found this to be a very interesting read. Any readers who like to read about the presidents, may enjoy this well done book. I did.
February 14, 2018
Interested in history? You'll love this book.
Interested in Presidents of the US? You'll love this book.
Interested in learning about Presidential libraries, monuments, and burial sites? You'll love this book.
This book is interesting in so many ways. It's well-researched and has information in it I've not seen anywhere else. Brady Carlson doesn't sugar coat the Presidents - he presents them as human beings with a good side and a bad side. Especially interesting is the portion on Thomas Jefferson. His affair and children by Sally Hemings had long-standing effects on how we view him today.
I guarantee you'll learn from this book, and be entertained at the same time.
Interested in Presidents of the US? You'll love this book.
Interested in learning about Presidential libraries, monuments, and burial sites? You'll love this book.
This book is interesting in so many ways. It's well-researched and has information in it I've not seen anywhere else. Brady Carlson doesn't sugar coat the Presidents - he presents them as human beings with a good side and a bad side. Especially interesting is the portion on Thomas Jefferson. His affair and children by Sally Hemings had long-standing effects on how we view him today.
I guarantee you'll learn from this book, and be entertained at the same time.
January 4, 2016
A delightful, irreverent look at the deaths and afterlives of America's leaders - from the solemn to the outrageous. Carlson has a natural, conversational style of writing that made this book a breeze to read, with plenty of humorous asides and observations. If you enjoyed Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation, you have to pick up this book.
May 4, 2020
Did you know that Theodore Roosevelt's daughter Alice owned a pet snake named Emily Spinach? This is a quirky book that examines how we remember presidents and how their legacies change over the decades.
September 7, 2020
Yay - - a five-star find! I'm going to start off by saying that although some readers were unhappy with the thematic arrangement, preferring a chronological linear approach instead, it worked very well as far as I'm concerned.
He does begin with George Washington, making that life a successful jumping-off point for the rest of the project, rather than raising a high bar to be met throughout the book. Later, when he gets to others with "bigger" stories, they don't seem to dwarf their less-prominent brethren, but one expects more content from those entries. Lincoln features a discussion of the grave-robbery plot, which inspired a tomb re-design. Jefferson's space featured a discussion of his relationship with Sally Hemmings that I found interesting and objective, rather than a sense of being obliged to tackle that subject. The issue of presidential slaves is brought in with other profiles (Andrew Jackson for one).
He gives decent space to lesser-known names... attending a Hooverball tournament in Iowa, for example. Nixon is treated with some sympathy; I was actually touched by LBJ's daughter on that score (you'll have to read it for yourself).
I found the book an overall success, with solid audio narration (an exception being the mangling of Bowdoin College beyond recognition). Highly recommended!
He does begin with George Washington, making that life a successful jumping-off point for the rest of the project, rather than raising a high bar to be met throughout the book. Later, when he gets to others with "bigger" stories, they don't seem to dwarf their less-prominent brethren, but one expects more content from those entries. Lincoln features a discussion of the grave-robbery plot, which inspired a tomb re-design. Jefferson's space featured a discussion of his relationship with Sally Hemmings that I found interesting and objective, rather than a sense of being obliged to tackle that subject. The issue of presidential slaves is brought in with other profiles (Andrew Jackson for one).
He gives decent space to lesser-known names... attending a Hooverball tournament in Iowa, for example. Nixon is treated with some sympathy; I was actually touched by LBJ's daughter on that score (you'll have to read it for yourself).
I found the book an overall success, with solid audio narration (an exception being the mangling of Bowdoin College beyond recognition). Highly recommended!
November 4, 2017
3.5 stars - informative book on how we honor dead presidents. I learned quite a bit about lesser known (at least to me) presidents. Recommended for those who enjoy history and fans of Sarah Vowell.
May 11, 2016
As a series of tumblr or reddit posts (or short radio pieces), this might have been amusing; as a book, it bored me out of my mind. There's no clear thesis or analysis here, just a scattershot collection of trivia, sometimes interesting and sometimes not. The author's dedication to completionism runs up against the fact that for a lot of former presidents, there's just not that much to say. There were sections I liked, including the discussion of how the presidential library as an institution was conceived and developed by subsequent presidents, but far more that had me setting down the book every paragraph or two, desperate for something more interesting to do.
Mind, I don't think the author was trying to write an intellectually rigorous book or a personally revealing memoir; I think he accomplished exactly what he set out to do. And there are presumably lots of people who enjoy reading loosely connected collections of flippant anecdote and trivia. I'm just not one of them.
Mind, I don't think the author was trying to write an intellectually rigorous book or a personally revealing memoir; I think he accomplished exactly what he set out to do. And there are presumably lots of people who enjoy reading loosely connected collections of flippant anecdote and trivia. I'm just not one of them.
May 3, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was funny, interesting and downright fun. I found myself laughing at every turn of the page. The best line was that Millard Filmore is the "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree of Presidents." I highly recommend this to everyone
August 3, 2016
Delightfully morbid! Reminded me of Sarah Vowell, which is one of the highest compliments I can pay an author of this genre.
February 13, 2016
A fun - that sounds kind of morbid, doesn't it? - jaunt through the afterlives of our presidents. Really enjoyed it, full review to come.
++++++
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I love these kinds of books - which might be a strange thing to say about a book that is primarily about the author's trek around the country to take in the many sites, memorials, and monuments dedicated to the men who have been president. But this is a great combination of history, travel, and witty quips - all things I enjoy. Despite the risk of being called kind of morbid, this was a fun jaunt through the afterlives of these men and a good look at how we remember our great, and not so great, leaders.
I have recently begun to learn more about presidents who are not named Washington or Lincoln. I admit my knowledge of many presidents is scant at best, as my interest in history typically lies across the ocean on those lovely little islands that make up the UK and Ireland. But here I was, able to repeatedly have my interest piqued, not only because of the sometimes strange stories about the presidents who had to be buried multiple times due to attempted body-napping (Hey Lincoln), but because I realized just how little I knew about the likes of Franklin Pierce, William Henry Harrison, and Chester A. Arthur (and that's just how he likes it!)
The book starts as it should - with a good look at Washington. You really can't help but feel sorry for him even 200+ years after his death. He first served as a general and didn't really want to be president the first time around. THEN, not only does he serve one term, but he is all but begged to serve a second. It's really as though the belief was that the country would have fallen apart without him. Given the nasty campaigns of those who followed, that may very well have been true. But, even after his death, Washington could not be left in peace. He said he did not want to be looked at or held up as greater than anyone else, yet even then the country just could not let him go.
A curiosity I found was the fact that President Garfield's assassination is the only one not marked by some kind of memorial. I mean, you say "Ford's Theatre" and EVERYONE knows what you are talking about. Granted, Garfield is less well-known, but it seems almost disrespectful that someone elected to the highest office in the land would not have a memorial, even a marking on the floor, to commemorate the event. I did a little more research into this topic and found some interesting information in a historical aspect, but it still seems odd to me that not only would President (Teddy) Roosevelt have the train station demolished without the permission of Congress, but would do nothing to at least mark the spot in some way.
After a while, in reading about some of these stories, I felt pity for many of these men more than anything else. While I am still learning more about the political parties and ideologies of them as politicians, they were still people. On one hand you have William Henry Harrison, who some critics were incredibly harsh on in life and in death. He took so much grief from his opponents and wanted to show them that he could do the job he had been elected to do, and it ended up costing him his life a month into the presidency. That alone gave his critics even more ammunition that he was never up to snuff. On the other you have President Taft, who was a target because of his weight. While yes, he was easily the heaviest president to hold office, the things he accomplished still seem to be overlooked, as he is remembered only as 'the fat one'.
I appreciate that as Carlson regales us with these tales of the departed, he remains respectful and thoughtful in his explorations of their lives after death. He is not making jokes at the expense of the former presidents, he makes intelligent observations in funny ways and makes the histories interesting (though, to be fair, I always think history is interesting. I mean that this is the kind of book that would interest even those who find history on the dull side). I'd also like to thank him for continuing to keep my interest in Nixon, as a recent book about the White House did as well. Previously Nixon had been nothing more than a disgraced president who seemed weasel-like and slippery and a guy who resigned to avoid punishment. But more and more I am intrigued by him and look forward to discovering more of who he was through further reading.
Overall, this exactly the kind of weird US tour I would go on myself, and will eventually drag my daughter along on - though I hope she will WANT to go, too - and I am glad to have this volume as a starting point for our own trek to the tombs and monuments and grave sites of the former presidents. Really great read, a lot of fun, highly recommended.
++++++
Book blog:
http://allthebookblognamesaretaken.bl...
www.facebook.com/AllTheBookBlogNamesA...
www.twitter.com/SarahsBookNook
I love these kinds of books - which might be a strange thing to say about a book that is primarily about the author's trek around the country to take in the many sites, memorials, and monuments dedicated to the men who have been president. But this is a great combination of history, travel, and witty quips - all things I enjoy. Despite the risk of being called kind of morbid, this was a fun jaunt through the afterlives of these men and a good look at how we remember our great, and not so great, leaders.
I have recently begun to learn more about presidents who are not named Washington or Lincoln. I admit my knowledge of many presidents is scant at best, as my interest in history typically lies across the ocean on those lovely little islands that make up the UK and Ireland. But here I was, able to repeatedly have my interest piqued, not only because of the sometimes strange stories about the presidents who had to be buried multiple times due to attempted body-napping (Hey Lincoln), but because I realized just how little I knew about the likes of Franklin Pierce, William Henry Harrison, and Chester A. Arthur (and that's just how he likes it!)
The book starts as it should - with a good look at Washington. You really can't help but feel sorry for him even 200+ years after his death. He first served as a general and didn't really want to be president the first time around. THEN, not only does he serve one term, but he is all but begged to serve a second. It's really as though the belief was that the country would have fallen apart without him. Given the nasty campaigns of those who followed, that may very well have been true. But, even after his death, Washington could not be left in peace. He said he did not want to be looked at or held up as greater than anyone else, yet even then the country just could not let him go.
A curiosity I found was the fact that President Garfield's assassination is the only one not marked by some kind of memorial. I mean, you say "Ford's Theatre" and EVERYONE knows what you are talking about. Granted, Garfield is less well-known, but it seems almost disrespectful that someone elected to the highest office in the land would not have a memorial, even a marking on the floor, to commemorate the event. I did a little more research into this topic and found some interesting information in a historical aspect, but it still seems odd to me that not only would President (Teddy) Roosevelt have the train station demolished without the permission of Congress, but would do nothing to at least mark the spot in some way.
After a while, in reading about some of these stories, I felt pity for many of these men more than anything else. While I am still learning more about the political parties and ideologies of them as politicians, they were still people. On one hand you have William Henry Harrison, who some critics were incredibly harsh on in life and in death. He took so much grief from his opponents and wanted to show them that he could do the job he had been elected to do, and it ended up costing him his life a month into the presidency. That alone gave his critics even more ammunition that he was never up to snuff. On the other you have President Taft, who was a target because of his weight. While yes, he was easily the heaviest president to hold office, the things he accomplished still seem to be overlooked, as he is remembered only as 'the fat one'.
I appreciate that as Carlson regales us with these tales of the departed, he remains respectful and thoughtful in his explorations of their lives after death. He is not making jokes at the expense of the former presidents, he makes intelligent observations in funny ways and makes the histories interesting (though, to be fair, I always think history is interesting. I mean that this is the kind of book that would interest even those who find history on the dull side). I'd also like to thank him for continuing to keep my interest in Nixon, as a recent book about the White House did as well. Previously Nixon had been nothing more than a disgraced president who seemed weasel-like and slippery and a guy who resigned to avoid punishment. But more and more I am intrigued by him and look forward to discovering more of who he was through further reading.
Overall, this exactly the kind of weird US tour I would go on myself, and will eventually drag my daughter along on - though I hope she will WANT to go, too - and I am glad to have this volume as a starting point for our own trek to the tombs and monuments and grave sites of the former presidents. Really great read, a lot of fun, highly recommended.
May 5, 2024
Two favorite subjects, combined in one book: U S. Presidents and death! An interesting travelogue about the deaths, funerals, monuments, and memories about presidents. I've been to a number of the locations mentioned in the book, but will aim to see LBJ's animatronic talking robot!
May 14, 2019
As I was leaving a party last year, someone raved about this book to me. I put off reading it because I was not sure that this would be light reading.
The book turned out to be a lot of fun. It was about the author's visits to numerous Presidential gravesites around the country with information about their funerals and how they are remembered now.
It also discusses our strange fascination with digging up Presidents and moving them around.
The book turned out to be a lot of fun. It was about the author's visits to numerous Presidential gravesites around the country with information about their funerals and how they are remembered now.
It also discusses our strange fascination with digging up Presidents and moving them around.
March 12, 2022
This book is a morbidly fascinating account of what happened to the U.S. Presidents after they died: be it their memorial, grave, or the actual corpse itself.
There is a lot of political bickering and maneuvering when it comes to where the burial site is going to be, and how much money is going to be put into the site. Many lackluster Presidents have grand monuments bankrolled by their rich descendants.
My favorites are the discarded statues that get moved when they go over like a lead balloon. George Washington’s intended monument was moved after being mocked mercilessly (as George is in Roman toga garb.) It still remains the only statue of George Washington that shows his nipple.
If you are like me and enjoy hearing weird stories (like which President was exhumed to test if he was poisoned,) this is the book for you.
There is a lot of political bickering and maneuvering when it comes to where the burial site is going to be, and how much money is going to be put into the site. Many lackluster Presidents have grand monuments bankrolled by their rich descendants.
My favorites are the discarded statues that get moved when they go over like a lead balloon. George Washington’s intended monument was moved after being mocked mercilessly (as George is in Roman toga garb.) It still remains the only statue of George Washington that shows his nipple.
If you are like me and enjoy hearing weird stories (like which President was exhumed to test if he was poisoned,) this is the book for you.
February 7, 2017
Not to be confused with the 90s film by the Hughes Brothers, this is literally the dead heads of state. It’s seemingly obvious that this book wouldn’t exist without Sarah Vowell’s Assassination Vacation. Carlson makes the trip to see the gravesite of every past President and commentary about them. I have recently rekindled an idea that I want to visit every Presidential home myself (I am at 11, I believe), so this just got me even more excited to do that.
So this book means Road Trip, but also a lot of fun trivia. It starts with Washington and the issue facing the country of how do you fete the former leader. From there, he groups up Presidents by similarity not chronologically, which probably creates a better read.
Worthwhile trivia includes:
- The John Adams/Thomas Jefferson deaths on July 4
- Millard Fillmore is in the same cemetery as Rick James
- The Taft stuck in a bathtub story was probably made up
- Rutherford Hayes started the idea of Presidential libraries, also huge in Paraguay
- Presidential libraries have escalated things over the years, such as animatronic LBJ
- How do you deal with Watergate when you’re the Nixon library
- How do you deal with Sally Hemmings when you’re the Jefferson estate
- The Mt McKinley naming controversy
- Presidential offspring with special appreciation for Alice Roosevelt Longsworth
- What happens when you are a former President who dies and no likes you because you ended up being a Confederate sympathizer (Pierce) or were unpopular at or very soon after your death (Buchanan, Harding)
- The sport of Hooverball
- How Dallas has struggled with the JFK legacy
- The annual reunion of Presidential descendants in Missouri
All of this and I am surely leaving stuff out. This is the kind of stuff I eat up, so if you like that too, it is well recommended. It’s a light read, quick and fairly short. Sarah Vowell, obviously comes to mind, but the tone for the book is probably more in line with Confederates in the Attic than Vowell’s work.
So this book means Road Trip, but also a lot of fun trivia. It starts with Washington and the issue facing the country of how do you fete the former leader. From there, he groups up Presidents by similarity not chronologically, which probably creates a better read.
Worthwhile trivia includes:
- The John Adams/Thomas Jefferson deaths on July 4
- Millard Fillmore is in the same cemetery as Rick James
- The Taft stuck in a bathtub story was probably made up
- Rutherford Hayes started the idea of Presidential libraries, also huge in Paraguay
- Presidential libraries have escalated things over the years, such as animatronic LBJ
- How do you deal with Watergate when you’re the Nixon library
- How do you deal with Sally Hemmings when you’re the Jefferson estate
- The Mt McKinley naming controversy
- Presidential offspring with special appreciation for Alice Roosevelt Longsworth
- What happens when you are a former President who dies and no likes you because you ended up being a Confederate sympathizer (Pierce) or were unpopular at or very soon after your death (Buchanan, Harding)
- The sport of Hooverball
- How Dallas has struggled with the JFK legacy
- The annual reunion of Presidential descendants in Missouri
All of this and I am surely leaving stuff out. This is the kind of stuff I eat up, so if you like that too, it is well recommended. It’s a light read, quick and fairly short. Sarah Vowell, obviously comes to mind, but the tone for the book is probably more in line with Confederates in the Attic than Vowell’s work.
November 10, 2021
It's been a bit since I read a fun book about our presidents. I really enjoyed this one a lot. :)
March 12, 2016
Brady Carlson has written a fun, wide-ranging, frolicking story of our dead presidents and all the unique ways we have and continue to memorialize them. The author visited all 39 final resting places of our Commander-in-Chiefs, and tied his experiences with a wonderful historic view of these burial sites came to be. I have read a lot of presidential history and I learned a lot in this book from the men that have lead our country. Both the serious presidential historian and the causal reader will enjoy and get a lot out of Carlson's book. Living in the Black Hills, I really appreciated his Epilogue, where he pays tribute to Mt. Rushmore and Rapid City, which is indeed the most patriotic city in America given that it is the City of Presidents.
I won a copy of "Dead Presidents" from a giveaway by Shelf Awareness. That in no way affected my review.
I won a copy of "Dead Presidents" from a giveaway by Shelf Awareness. That in no way affected my review.
April 28, 2016
I loved this book. Carlson has a very engaging, entertaining voice that propels you through the book. He touches on almost all of the Presidents, including focusing on some of the lesser-known Presidents. He doesn't go into too much depth (the book, without notes, is only about 250 pages), but this book provides a great jumping-off point to do more digging on your own, should you want to. I loved the mix of looking both into legacies like physical monuments and memorials, and also the way certain Presidents linger in our minds (e.g., Taft as the "fat President"). And though most of the book is fairly breezy, he takes a good look at the Jefferson/Hemings legacy and how that has played out over the last 20 years.
There is also apparently a gathering of Presidential relatives that I NEED to go to at some point. (It's public, and is part of a cherry blossom festival.)
There is also apparently a gathering of Presidential relatives that I NEED to go to at some point. (It's public, and is part of a cherry blossom festival.)
March 19, 2016
This was a delightful and educational read about the deaths and 'afterlives' of our presidents. Carlson, traveled the country to learn about the final resting places of the presidents and along the way discovered a wealth of interesting facts. I learned quite a bit about U.S. History reading this and the style wasn't dry or boring. My favorite facts were about William Howard Taft and I also enjoyed the odyssey of President Lincoln's final journey. I recommend this book to anyone interested in history told in an accessible and entertaining way.
February 15, 2016
You're either interested in this kind of book, or you are not. I am. Do you want to go through the deaths of our presidents, the monuments to our presidents, their libraries, their homes? Anything you can think of that has to deal with dying or dead presidents? If this is not your cup of tea, don't pick it up. If you love reading about presidential history and strange facts, you may already know a lot of this stuff, but you may enjoy reading it again.
February 24, 2021
Fascinating look at the legacies of the presidents after they have passed on... Lots of great anecdotes that even I, as a presidential history buff, was not aware of. Very well-written and a very enjoyable read! Great information about presidential places I'd like to visit... must check out Founding Fathers Pub next time I'm in Buffalo 😊
February 19, 2016
I enjoyed the author's experiences of visiting presidential burial sites, memorials, and libraries. He adds interesting tidbits regarding the presidents, often with humor. This book is not a dry, history book.
May 1, 2016
Full of quirky facts, especially about lesser known presidents, this is a fascinating read for anyone with the slightest amount of curiosity about our leaders and their legacies. I have a new respect for
Taft!
Taft!
May 24, 2016
Brady came and lectured at our library and I found him so engaging I had to read his book. He's so passionate about his favorite topic, the US Presidents, that he draws you into their stories with his humor and intriguing history lessons. I recommend this book.
May 1, 2020
What a wonderful adventure to go along with. Carlson is insightful, intuitive, resourceful and just plain enthusiastic on the subject. Thoroughly enjoyed this read as a presidential history buff and a fan of the morbid and morose.
January 25, 2016
Interesting and easy read. Contains a lot of odd ball facts about not only dead presidents but living ones as well. Good read if you want to brush up on your presidential trivia.
April 29, 2020
If you have an interest in Presidential history (or have dreams of being on Jeopardy), you would probably enjoy this book. This book went in a lot of different directions, but I enjoyed all of it.
April 30, 2022
Some very interesting information even current information happening now because of dead presidents. It was a nice travel log.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 305 reviews