Lives of the Presidents: Fame, Shame

Lives

by Kathleen Krull, Kathryn Hewitt (Illustrator)

Rather than focusing solely on the historical achievements of former presidents, a collection of presidential portraits emphasizes their bad habits, silly nicknames, and strange pets, and focuses on those who had the most impact on history.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Childrens, Presidents, Politics, Juvenile

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[David]

Lives of the Presidents: Fame, Shame (and What the Neighbors Thought) by Kathleen Krull gives a relatively short biographical summary of each US President from Washington through Clinton. What this author did differently was to mostly avoid their major policy initiatives and accomplishments and focused instead on personal traits such as likes, dislikes, good and bad habits, what they liked to eat, and family details. This gives us a chance to see a completely different side to many of them; I actually found myself liking some because of these personal traits who's policies I disagree with. It was well written and made what could be a boring subject rather interesting. I think everyone could find something they didn't know even if they have been reading other books about our Presidents.

[Brian Eshleman]

Interesting texture of Presidents' lives from food to faith. Surprised how many read the Bible daily and how many actually seemed to enjoy such a tough job.

[Chris]

I gave this two stars, because I thought the author could have written more. For instance, Herbert Hoover, only received one paragraph. Also, the book was very short in length. I realize the author was trying to find different qualities of each man, but several of the presidents only had a few sentences.

[Michell Karnes]

This book was a fun and fast read with many interesting details about our presidents from Washington to Obama. While I learn some details that I had not heard about before I was disappointed that the author did not have much to say about some of the presidents. Hoover and Harding to name just two who the author did not have much to say about.

[Burbank Library Children's Department]

Kathleen Krull is a master at nonfiction for kids and her Lives of... series is not to be missed.

[Stephanie Pieck]

An irreverent but delightful romp through U.S. history, this book provided glimpses into the lives of every American president except Bush II, Obama, and Trump. Even the folks forgotten by schoolroom history get a mention here--all those guys that sort of blend together between the end of the Civil War and the start of the 20th century (Tyler, Taylor, Harrison, Filmore, Polk, et al).
This is the kind of book that can send an inquisitive reader on a quest to learn more about someone who captivates the attention. It's also a repository of terrific fuel for conversation. For instance: I didn't know Truman was such a fine classical pianist. I wonder if there are any recordings of his playing floating around on YouTube. It was also a treat to read about presidents who had watermelon-seed-spitting wars with family members in the White House, or to find out that at least two presidents had goats.
All in all, a nice collection, as well written and enjoyable as the author's "Lives of the Musicians," which dusts off all those "dead German dudes" who composed the bulk of classical music.

[Dakota Morgan]

"Just the fun facts, please!" You won't find the presidents here (only up to Clinton) judged by our modern values. Sure, there's some mention of early presidents being anti-slavery though they still owned slaves, but modern villains like Andrew Jackson receive fairly glowing entries. So, venture in with that in mind.

If you're looking for fun facts, though, Lives of the Presidents shines. The book is just plain enjoyable, a breezy look at the weird quirks of these leaders of free world. I do wish Kathleen Krull had spent more time examining the largely forgotten presidents instead of focusing on the modern ones. Give me the deets on Polk please!

[Jennifer Robb]

Short biographical information on US Presidents from Washington to Obama. A while ago, I decided I wanted to learn about each of the US Presidents. I almost feel like this book is "cheating" since it covers all the presidents. But since I've had trouble finding titles to check out for a number of the presidents after Andrew Jackson and came across this while searching, I am going to count it as learning about each president!

There are some interesting facts related. This is definitely not as in depth as the other multi-president book I read, and some of the information did overlap between the books, but there was new information in this book.

[Moira]

If you have read other books about presidents, this is not worth the read. The author did a good job of keeping politics out of the content for the most part (although, without any outside knowledge of the author, I would say she is a fan of Clinton). The information shared is mostly surface level and anecdotes that are commonly used and shared in books and discussions about the presidents.

If you are newer to the subject, check it out. If it is a topic you frequent, I would pass.

[Alaina]

Although short chapters and humorous- many parts of the book seemed to be trying to show the scandelous only sode of the Presidents. Although I don't think we should hide from these things, I don't want to use this book as a main resource overview of the Presidents and their accomplishments for my children.

[Michael Delaware]

It was informative. There were some interesting anecdotes about some of the earlier Presidents that I had not read before, and a few of the more recent ones. The books ends with Bill Clinton, so there is nothing with Presidents after that, which shows how dated this one is.

[Kim]

It has been an interesting year in review about our presidents. We studied one president a week and learned the good, the bad and the ugly....plus some interesting facts. This copy only went until Bill Clinton, so we haven't studied the others who have followed him. But, it was very informative.

[Cindy Konopelski]

Listened to with kids. Tells personal details (think wives, favorite foods, quirky habits, etc) of each of the presidents, ending with Clinton. Spends more time on the more famous and more recent presidents.

Informative, but not funny.

[Wendi (Alex) Werner]

The audio version has many mispronunciations.

[Marcus]

simple yet informative while being fun.

[Jo Ann Theriault-Fazio]

Super quick easy read. One of the best books I have read this year.

[Ken Sayers]

It’s interesting but it doesn’t go into much depth at all. Just a couple pages per president, but it does share some stuff you don’t generally hear about.

[Tressa]

It’s interesting that some presidents have have so little written about them and others have a lot.

[Lisa MW]

Too many inaccuracies and hiding of truth. I would not recommend this to my students.

[Tim]

Easy way to review American history and refresh my memory of recent presidents and events that occurred during their terms in office.

[Debbie Zarembski]

A quick read, great for school kids. A little bit of trivia about each president up to Clinton.

[Tisha]

This is really fun book. I wish they would update it to include the more recent presidents (the books ends with Bill Clinton in office, but before anything had come forth about Monick Lewinsky).

[Denae]

A little insight regarding most of the presidents of the United States, from George to Obama... I found it interesting

[Tabi]

The authors should update it with the additions of George W Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden along with the deaths of Reagan, Ford, and George Bush.

[PottWab Regional Library]

A

[Natalie]

Minimally interesting. I wonder how much of the information is actually true.

[Katie Dennison]

I loved learning about their families. especially the wives!

[Danny Weddle]

A fun read with really interesting facts about the presidents.

[Adriana]

It was a great book it shows you funny and weird facts about each president.

[Leslie]

A fun quick overview of the presidents through Bill Clinton. Nothing amazingly ground breaking but a good brush up and some fun facts. I especially liked the commentary on their relationships with the First Ladies.