This was a marvelous biography of an iconic American who’s life coincided with some of the most tumultuous and divisive events in American history. But I find myself struggling to review it. H.W. Brands doesn’t skimp on the details. His Ronald Regan biography tips the scales with more than 800 pages. His book on FDR is even more ambitious, being close to 900 pages – though, when you consider that FDR had nearly twice as much time in office as Regan, it may be said […]
Great expectations brought low
I don’t know who has written the book on Grover Cleveland, but I don’t think this book is it. It’s an insightful appraisal of the man, and an informative snapshot of the era, but it isn’t nearly detailed enough in the latter respect to be able to draw much of a parallel to current affairs, and the subject perhaps isn’t interesting enough to safe the former respect. I liked the book, but it’s a fairly middling biography, for a president often ignored and little taught […]
Wonder Bread, Leave it to Beaver, and Eisenhower. Thrilling times for everyone.
It’s always been difficult for me to gain much traction with Eisenhower. Bookended by the tumultuous era that began with FDR and extended through the Truman administration and the turbulent civil unrest of the JFK/Johnson/Nixon administrations, Eisenhower has always been the eye of the storm. Much of what happened in the ’50s happened behind the scenes: covert missions in Iran and Guatamala, unbridled tension within the party over Sen. Joseph McCarthy, in-fighting over whether or not a nuclear response was required in various hot spots […]
I’ve seen Fire and I’ve seen Reign
It is only fitting that perhaps the most contentious presidency of my lifetime gets a second look in my quest to read a biography for every president in US history. And while Decision Points was shockingly insightful and somewhat changed my opinion of George W. Bush, Days of Fire is far deeper and considerably more thorough. In many ways, this is for Bush what Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals was for Lincoln: an interwoven narrative exploring the characters of the particular administration being studied. […]