Reviews

History picks the President 2008, by Bruce Carlson

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pharmdad2007's review against another edition

4.0

I love quirky tidbits from history, and this book is full of them. Even more quirkily, (not a real word, I know, so sue me) these quirky tidbits all revolve around the death of the presidents of our country. The author does a great job of making it fun and interesting without going too far into disrepect or blasphemy.

lizmart88's review against another edition

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2.0

Ironic to be reading this the week of the 2016 presidential election. However, I didn't find it very compelling.

It is difficult to write books about ALL the presidents because inevitably you end up having to cover so much material that the content is shallow and moves too quickly to really learn and enjoy about any one present.

There are certainly good stories in this book, interesting anecdotes, and new historical facts. However, overall the book failed to really engage me. It tried to cover too much material: burial sites, legacies, funerals, and more. It was just too much.

citybound13's review against another edition

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4.0

This is a great book for anyone who enjoys learning about presidential history or for someone who is looking to read some non-fiction but doesn't know where to start. Dead Presidents is funny and enlightening.

alex_hev's review against another edition

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informative lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

Cool topic for a book, the author tours the country for presidential monuments and memorials to see how the country views our presidents who have passed on. How their legacies have formed, changed over time and differ from how they were viewed when alive.

suzannekm's review against another edition

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5.0

Interesting and entertaining look at how we remember, honor, or try not to remember US presidents.

msmandrake's review against another edition

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3.0

I was expecting more of a humorous travelogue in the style of Assassination Vacation or Confederates in the Attic, and there was some of that here but this book was all over the place with it's style. Some of it straight and dry, some more whimsically trivial and then some the author's personal experiences. As I've been reading presidential trivia books since I was a child, some of it was overly familiar, some was entertaining whether I already knew it or not, some was brand new and fascinating, some got a bit boring. So my reading experience was all over the place, too.