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Don't Know Much About the Presidents
Which president was also a movie star?
What happened five days after the Union won the Civil War?
What food did Americans think was poisonous until Thomas Jefferson ate some?
Hail to the chief! Here's your chance to learn all about the presidents' important political achievements, their nicknames, hobbies -- even what kind of foods they ate. Best-selling author Kenneth C. Davis packs fun facts and cool quotes into his signature question-and-answer format. Who knows? After you learn so much about the presidents, maybe you will want to run for office someday, too!
What happened five days after the Union won the Civil War?
What food did Americans think was poisonous until Thomas Jefferson ate some?
Hail to the chief! Here's your chance to learn all about the presidents' important political achievements, their nicknames, hobbies -- even what kind of foods they ate. Best-selling author Kenneth C. Davis packs fun facts and cool quotes into his signature question-and-answer format. Who knows? After you learn so much about the presidents, maybe you will want to run for office someday, too!
64 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2003
2 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth C. Davis
57 books424 followersKenneth C. Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of the Don't Know Much About® series of books and audios for adults and children. Don't Know Much About® History, the first title in the series, became a New York Times bestseller in 1991 and remained on the paperback list for 35 consecutive weeks. It has since been revised several times and now has more than 1.6 million copies in print. The 30th anniversary edition of the book was published with a new preface, "From an Era of Broken Trust to an Era of Broken Democracy."
Davis is, according to Publishers Weekly, "a go-to guy for historical insight and analysis."
AMERICA'S HIDDEN HISTORY also became a New York Times bestseller. A NATION RISING also uses dramatic narratives to tell the "stories your textbooks left out." His book, THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF AMERICA AT WAR (May 5, 2015) was called "searing" analysis by Publishers Weekly.
Kenneth C. Davis’s success aptly makes the case that Americans don’t hate history, just the dull version they slept through in class. Davis’s approach is to refresh us on the subjects we should have learned in school. He does it by busting myths, setting the record straight, and always remembering that fun is not a four-word letter word.
His IN THE SHADOW OF LIBERTY: THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF SLAVERY, FOUR PRESIDENTS, AND FIVE BLACK LIVES looks at the lives of five people enslaved by four of America's most famous Presidents and the role of slavery in American history and the presidency. In May 2018, MORE DEADLY THAN WAR: The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and the First World War was published.
STRONGMAN: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy was published by Holt. It was named among the best books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews and the Washington Post.
In November 2022 GREAT SHORT BOOKS: A Year of Reading--Briefly was published by SCribner. A compendium of 58 great short works Davis read during the pandemic lock down, it is a joyous celebration of reading.
Coming in October 2024 is THE WORLD IN BOOKS: 52 WORKS OF GREAT SHORT NONFICTION. It is an accessible and comprehensive guide to some of the most influential and important works of nonfiction, from the earliest days of writing to contemporary times. Each entry includes information about the writers behind these consequential books and the time in which they lived.
Davis is, according to Publishers Weekly, "a go-to guy for historical insight and analysis."
AMERICA'S HIDDEN HISTORY also became a New York Times bestseller. A NATION RISING also uses dramatic narratives to tell the "stories your textbooks left out." His book, THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF AMERICA AT WAR (May 5, 2015) was called "searing" analysis by Publishers Weekly.
Kenneth C. Davis’s success aptly makes the case that Americans don’t hate history, just the dull version they slept through in class. Davis’s approach is to refresh us on the subjects we should have learned in school. He does it by busting myths, setting the record straight, and always remembering that fun is not a four-word letter word.
His IN THE SHADOW OF LIBERTY: THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF SLAVERY, FOUR PRESIDENTS, AND FIVE BLACK LIVES looks at the lives of five people enslaved by four of America's most famous Presidents and the role of slavery in American history and the presidency. In May 2018, MORE DEADLY THAN WAR: The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and the First World War was published.
STRONGMAN: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy was published by Holt. It was named among the best books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews and the Washington Post.
In November 2022 GREAT SHORT BOOKS: A Year of Reading--Briefly was published by SCribner. A compendium of 58 great short works Davis read during the pandemic lock down, it is a joyous celebration of reading.
Coming in October 2024 is THE WORLD IN BOOKS: 52 WORKS OF GREAT SHORT NONFICTION. It is an accessible and comprehensive guide to some of the most influential and important works of nonfiction, from the earliest days of writing to contemporary times. Each entry includes information about the writers behind these consequential books and the time in which they lived.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 4, 2013
I bought this in hardcover because I figured as big as it is, it will be very detailed. It wasn’t. I’m still keeping it on my bookshelf.
Kenneth C Davis reviews each president ‘s highlights by bullet point with longer descriptions when needed. It made for a quick read. In doing so, I did pick up some new facts so it works as a beginner book on each president and has enough new info to make it work for someone that already likes history.
I thought the final rating of each president would be controversial. I won’t say it is because he backs up his analysis. John Tyler is usually rated pretty bad by historians. Tyler later joined the Confederacy. Davis rated him as “C.” Tyler was the first Vice President to become President so he had to come into the office and make it his. Many people were against him and he made the rules of succession work. I hadn’t looked at Tyler like that before so his "C" seems justified.
The Presidents in the 1840’s-1860 always rate bad because they exacerbated the issues that lead to the Civil War or did nothing about the issues. Buchanan always rates bad. Davis did try to be fair, but the times and issues were against Buchanan. The kindest thing he says about Buchanan and many others that rate badly is that they “were the wrong President for the time.” It seems accurate.
It is tough to rate these Presidents because there is no glowing review of anyone, not even Washington. We had a few slave owning Presidents. Jackson is considered one of our best Presidents, but you can’t deny his harsh treatment of slavery and Native Americans. Lincoln suspended Habeus Corpus. Woodrow Wilson didn’t want to touch race issues at all. Regan ran up debt and ignored many social issues. These were considered our best Presidents.
Don't get me wrong, it's not that he set out to give every president a terrible review. We have to accept that even our best presidents got things wrong. Like I said with Tyler above, even our worst still did some good things.
In the end, the book was fair and factual. It’s around 600 pages and I read it in a week. As a casual history read, this is a book to consider.
Kenneth C Davis reviews each president ‘s highlights by bullet point with longer descriptions when needed. It made for a quick read. In doing so, I did pick up some new facts so it works as a beginner book on each president and has enough new info to make it work for someone that already likes history.
I thought the final rating of each president would be controversial. I won’t say it is because he backs up his analysis. John Tyler is usually rated pretty bad by historians. Tyler later joined the Confederacy. Davis rated him as “C.” Tyler was the first Vice President to become President so he had to come into the office and make it his. Many people were against him and he made the rules of succession work. I hadn’t looked at Tyler like that before so his "C" seems justified.
The Presidents in the 1840’s-1860 always rate bad because they exacerbated the issues that lead to the Civil War or did nothing about the issues. Buchanan always rates bad. Davis did try to be fair, but the times and issues were against Buchanan. The kindest thing he says about Buchanan and many others that rate badly is that they “were the wrong President for the time.” It seems accurate.
It is tough to rate these Presidents because there is no glowing review of anyone, not even Washington. We had a few slave owning Presidents. Jackson is considered one of our best Presidents, but you can’t deny his harsh treatment of slavery and Native Americans. Lincoln suspended Habeus Corpus. Woodrow Wilson didn’t want to touch race issues at all. Regan ran up debt and ignored many social issues. These were considered our best Presidents.
Don't get me wrong, it's not that he set out to give every president a terrible review. We have to accept that even our best presidents got things wrong. Like I said with Tyler above, even our worst still did some good things.
In the end, the book was fair and factual. It’s around 600 pages and I read it in a week. As a casual history read, this is a book to consider.
November 5, 2010
This is an easy to read book about all the presidents. Each page is dedicated to one president. The page displays their name and when they served. It also has cartoon drawing of each of them along with interesting and often unknown information. It gives nicknames and hobbies, and even tells you who was the tallest, or youngest. It also lists significant events that happened during their presidency. You will learn who had a goose, a lion cub, and a donkey for pets. That would be Calvin Coolidge! Another piece of information you will learn is who had the largest feet. That would be Warren Harding with a size 14!
I liked the information the book told. There was no politics anywhere, just fun information.
I liked the information the book told. There was no politics anywhere, just fun information.
July 30, 2016
I started this year thinking that, because it is an election year and I was always terrible in History class, I should make a dedicated effort to learn a few things about the US presidents. I wanted to start small, so I was aiming for a quick and easy trivia book describing fun facts about the presidents so I could familiarize myself with them a bit better. This book was ok - definitely aimed at kids, no doubt about that, but I knew that going in. I wish that there was more information about their policies and important things they did - many of the trivia tid bits were just the pets they owned or their nicknames. I suppose maybe aiming for a kids' book to start was not quite what I was looking for after all - but I do remember the order of them a bit better.
April 3, 2012
This book was really, really cool because it was almost like a comic book because there was so much going on on each page. This book is a typical presidents book, each page is for a different president and tells a little bit about each person- enough information that a younger student would want to know. Each page also offers many pictures, dialogue bubbles in the pictures, fact boxes, little side notes and sometimes even timelines. I think I would include this in my class library if I was teaching students of the appropriate age to learn about the presidents simply because this book is really fun and kids wont find the subject boring because the book is far from that.
May 22, 2017
This is a pretty good overview of the US presidents (My edition only goes through 43, I don't know if there are any newer editions) with the main important facts about each. There are also some fun "trivia" type things, as well as timelines on each page that show other major events that happened in each presidency. Pretty useful for just getting an overview.
There are a few kind of hilariously prescient moments ("Some people even though Bill Clinton's wife could be president!") and I liked the way they handled explaining the causes of the American Civil War (yes, we do know what they are.)
There are a few kind of hilariously prescient moments ("Some people even though Bill Clinton's wife could be president!") and I liked the way they handled explaining the causes of the American Civil War (yes, we do know what they are.)
April 24, 2008
One page is devoted to each of our presidents. Information presented not only includes the usual (date of birth, years in office, nickname, etc.) but also trivia such as the types of pets owned (both Adams and Hoover had alligators!) A timeline borders the bottom of the pages helping readers better conceptualize other historical events during each presidents' terms.
May 7, 2012
This book makes the presidents come alive for students. So often in school, I have to focus on presidential policies and this book allows me to break that pattern and introduce a real person to my students. The quirky facts, fun pictures and historical information makes this a must for any social studies teacher.
November 16, 2015
Needing a resource tool for teaching your students about the presidents, American history, or presidential races? This story is perfect for just that reason. Not only does it provide insightful information on those topics, but it also contains a timeline that explains how our country came to be what it is today.
September 23, 2011
I am probably not being fair to this book, because it is designed for children, and I'm not sure that I am a fair judge of children's books. However, it seemed like some of the tidbits may not have been the best ones for children, and there were other areas that maybe could have been more specific.
January 22, 2021
Picture book of the presidents. This version only up through Obama. Lots of facts. There's a timeline that runs along the bottom about important or fun facts that happened while each was president. Plus fun drawings (cartoons).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2012
Nice resource for students! Variety of texts are engaging for students.
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January 16, 2013Good picture book by Kenneth C. Davis, be sure to look into his chapter books if you like reading.
May 1, 2015
good book for those studing the u.s. presidents.
May 7, 2017
My 5 and 8-year-olds really liked this book and learning some of the odd and interesting facts about the U.S. presidents.
October 25, 2023
I read it with my grandkids and we all love it. Interesting facts and beautiful pictures makes the book fun to read.
June 3, 2016
Great book with many interesting facts about the 44 presidents, soon to be 45. Wonderful for kids.
July 4, 2016
This book was very interesting and factual. I was surprised and intrigued by some of the facts about these presidents. I highly recommend it, since it sparks curiousity.
August 13, 2021
Lots of inserting facts about the Presidents.
September 19, 2019
I enjoyed the fun facts about each President! Great book for children, but still fun for an adult.
Read
April 2, 2020This was a cute little book of random facts about presidents. It is definitely aimed at young children. There is no information about what the presidents really did in office.
September 15, 2023
I loved this book as a kid and it’s still great
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews