First Book Review of 2007

I don’t think I’m going to attempt the 50 book challenge this year as I failed miserably at it last year and I had a lot more time then than I do now. Instead, I’ll copy my brother and just mention books I read on the blog. I recently finished To the Best of My Ability, edited by James McPherson. It’s a compilation of short essays by different people about each of the presidents from George Washington up through GWB’s first term. Each president gets his turn to shine with random facts, insights into his personality and backstory, and an analysis of how he did in the big picture. I learned about this book when I was channel surfing one day and stopped on The History Channel. They were running the video series that is based on this book.

As you may remember (or not) was rather obsessed with our noble leaders for a while in middle and high school. I had a whole wall of my bedroom plastered with “Presidential Paraphernalia.” I was less interested in their political leanings and bills they passed than in how many of them were from Virginia or how many of their wives were named Martha (two Marthas, by the way.) In my typical OCD categorizing way I had lists of all kinds of random rankings (youngest elected, youngest to die, etc.) Nevertheless I managed to learn a thing or two in the process. And when I saw part of the series on tv, I knew I should buy this book.

So I did. It’s a honking big book and weighs probably 9 pounds. Each president gets his pages with plenty of pictures and interesting information. At the rear of the book is a section detailing the results of each election. Also included are transcripts of all the inaugurational addresses. There are lots of things that I found interesting while reading this book. Firstly, I was amazed by how many presidents we’ve had that were only nominated because their party was deadlocked between two guys they actually wanted. These men were a “suitable compromise” for the nomination and were pretty much nominated just because the delegates at the meeting wanted to go home. Secondly, so many of these men seemed to marry the first woman they met, after a ridiculously short period of time. At least three of the wives said they thought their husband was nuts when he proposed on their first or second date. Thirdly, it was interesting to see how the present looks back at the past. I’ve only been around for a few presidents (Reagan, Bush, Clinton, GW Bush) and I can’t really say too much about any of them. Public opinion of some of the former presidents changed so much over time. Some of the guys who are fondly remembered today were despised in their own time (Coolidge and Hoover anyone?) And some of them who are revered don’t really deserve it (hello JFK!)

Even some scathing commentary couldn’t dissuade me from continuing my love affair with FDR. He’s been my favorite for years and looking at the upcoming election, I’d say he’s not in any danger of being displaced any time soon. And I’d also say the nation could use some fireside chats these days.

I’m debating with myself whether I want to go ahead and buy the videos as well. I know (from the two or three parts I saw) that there is a lot more information in the tv series than in the book. I might just have to spring for it (it’s not expensive) just to satisfy my curiosity. Or maybe the library has it… Didn’t even think about that.