The American Heritage Illustrated History of the Presidents

by Michael R. Beschloss (editor)

Every day our lives are affected by what the American president does. But there are some things we cannot know about presidents until many years after they leave office -- what really went on behind the scenes and how great their leadership was. That is the mission of this book.

American Heritage is known and trusted for its standard-bearing single-volume histories. Its various editions on the American Civil War and World War II, edited by such distinguished scholars as James McPherson and Stephen Ambrose, are recognized as classics and have together sold more than a million copies.

The American Heritage® Illustrated History of the Presidents is newly available in a richly illustrated and completely revised edition, with the preeminent presidential historian Michael Beschloss as general editor. This new book offers fresh and penetrating portraits of all forty-two presidencies, as rendered by some of America's most distinguished scholars.

From George Washington's reluctant oath-taking through Bill Clinton's turbulent leadership, we view forty-one ambitious and fallible men through the new lens of the twenty-first century. Where did they succeed? Where did they fail? What do we know now that we could not have known at the time?

The American Heritage® Illustrated History of the Presidents offers a biographical profile of each man and a full account of the issues and events that shaped each presidency, with pathbreaking new verdicts on the modern presidents -- Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton. In the tradition of other American Heritage volumes, the book will serve as an indispensable reference guide for many years to come, for both seasoned observers and students just learning about the presidency.  

American Heritage is a trademark of American Heritage Inc. Its use is pursuant to a license agreement.

Genres: History, Presidents, Nonfiction, Biography, American History, Audiobook, The United States Of America

528 pages, Hardcover

First published October 10, 2000

About the author

Michael Beschloss is the author of nine books on presidential history, including, most recently, the New York Times bestsellers Presidential Courage and The Conquerors, as well as two volumes on Lyndon Johnson’s White House tapes. He was also editor of the number-one global bestseller Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy. He is the NBC News Presidential Historian and a PBS NewsHour contributor and has received an Emmy and six honorary degrees.

Reviews

[Kiekiat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come

[Diane Ritter · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’re looking for something that will give you a synopsis of each president’s time in office, this book is a good place to start. I chose this book because the editor is Michael Beschloss, and I am familiar with him from seeing him on MSNBC.

I thought the content for the earlier presidents was more interesting, perhaps because I didn’t know much about them. It was also fun to read the ones who have served during my lifetime to see how much I remembered. This book was compiled before completion of Barack Obama’s presidency, so I guess I’ll have to read a separate book for a summary of his presidency.

It did take a couple of months to read this because I decided to just read a President a day, but some took longer than others and sometimes I skipped. All in all, it’s a fairly good read.

[Larry Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique political history of the U S

An interesting and unique political history of the U S from a presidential perspective in approximately fifty pages per president; from Washington through the first two years of George H W Bush.

[Dave Hoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good Bio. of each President, George Washington to Clinton. Very complete. Childhood to death. Their cabinets, their interaction, or lack of it with congress.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learning more about our Presidents. Some, I knew nothing about and others I knew a great deal about. Having them all presented back to back allowed for a more cohesive story over time, a continuity for which, I thoroughly enjoyed. Each bio did a really good job of encapsulating and providing just enough info to help you decide who you want to do more of a deep dive into and learn more about. You could then, for example, read David McCullough's Truman (which I highly recommend), if this book helped pique your interest in that President.

[Douglas Osler · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a book gets one fact wrong it makes you wonder about other things it says. In the early chapters the author seems to think England,English,Britain and British are interchangeable. They are not. After 1707 the country was Britain or the United Kingdom. It is a bit like calling the USA Texas because it's the biggest state. Bad. Otherwise these are good summaries of presidents to GWBush although he is not completed.

[Lane Willson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource that offers a broad perspective on each president and their time in office. The sources sighted are also a great way to discover more intensive biographies of each man. President Linclon alone has over 16,000 books written about his life, so it can be more than a bit overwhelming to know where to begin. Start here!

[Norman]

Read this on the run up to the Trump election and found it a fascinating summary for a non-American of the history of the presidents.

[Antonia Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise Information

Excellent review of the presidencies of all the presidents in easy to understand language. I enjoyed this book's high lights of their lives.

[Radicle5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent refresher covering the politics and history of each of the presidents up to Bush 43. I liked that I learned something new about each president.

[Sunil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great summaries of all the presidents of USA up to bush. Gives a bit of background on each one, then their major achievements followed up with the post presidential lives and legacy.

[James Uscroft · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yet another painfully white-washed and selective 'Great Man History' of America's leading slave owners, white supremacists and war criminals.

[Tim Duff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Synopsis of Presidents

Short synopsis of Presidents Washington through George W. Bush. Great easy read and a look of how Presidential campaigns have not changed over time.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

short essays about Presidents through half of George W. Bush’s first term. Focus is on how they used the presidency, enhanced its power, were able to implement their policies. Somewhat dated (e.g., no acknowledgement of Wilson’s and others’ racism), but interesting to learn about many I know little about. Also, it helped me fall back asleep, thinking about something outside myself.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of vignettes on each of the U.S. presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush. The biographical sketches describe the highlights of the mens lives before reaching the presidency, the political currents and forces that carried them into office, the challenges they faced and their accomplishments in office. With a few exceptions, the writing is politically neutral. I enjoyed learning more about the lesser known presidents the most.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview.

Went pretty quickly. This is an amazing group of men - maybe soon to include a woman. We truly live in historic times.

[Bill Freil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy. Fun. Informative.

If you need a starting point on U.S Presidents this is where to start. It only goes .uk to W first term but is concise, well written and balanced.

[Bettie]

Trump lacks American democratic value enforced by past presidents. Russian interest in influencing American elections is not a new thing, but Donald Trump's failure to uphold the basic American value of rejecting such an offer has no precedent in history, Michael Beschloss, NBC News presidential historian explains.May.24.2018

[Jeff Bond]

An outstanding historical review of the office of the President as well as the individuals that held the office. Each President from Washington to Bush (41) was well documented as to their strengths and weakness, as well as their impact upon the country. Well done!