New Big Book of U.S. Presidents

by Marc Frey

Our original Big Book of U.S. Presidents has sold more than 200,000 copies! It was also a Scholastic Book Club Selection, and continues to be a perennial favorite in the Courage Children's line. This updated edition features a revised profile of George W. Bush, plus a look ahead to our next president. In fact, it was published less than 3 months after the 2004 election, close to inauguration, and was one of the first books to feature a profile of the newest president. This fascinating introduction to U.S. government includes famous quotes, achievements, and a detailed timeline for quick reference to historical eras and events, plus more than 50 illustrations.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Reference, Presidents, Childrens, Biography, Politics

56 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2001

About the author

Marc Frey received his BA in history from Duke University, and both his MA and his PhD in History from Temple University. He lives in Potomac, MD.

He is professor in the history of international relations at the University of the Armed Forces Munich, Germany.

Reviews

[Jenee Antoniu]

This book was just okay. Compared to the others I read, this one was lacking a lot of information and was somewhat boring. Most presidents only have one page of information. The more notable presidents have 2 (a whole page spread). It gives a very broad overview without giving you much to really fully understand about what was going on. It was fine, but nothing compared to the other two I read. It rarely added new information about the president. More often it was the information about events happening during that time period that was most interesting.

[Gary]

Just finished my U.S. President reading "surge" with reading at least one biography for each of 44 U.S. presidents (I did not read 2 books for Grover Cleveland thus 44 and not 45 presidents). Reading this short overview book was just way for me to try to cement their stories into my mind and to go book for 12 year old but was a quick and easy read. Maybe a little unfair to only give it two stars since clearly I was not the target for the book.

[Annette Witham]

Had this book on my shelf for a long time and decided to read it. The book only goes through the presidency of George W Bush, but I enjoyed the facts and the American History timeline. Maybe now I can answer a few more Jeopardy questions accurately.

[Brenda Puhlman]

A great book to prepare for playing trivia!

[David Berghahn]

Overall good facts on the presidents and what they did. Could emphasize a bit more on some points though.

[Kayla Thurman]

Frey, M., & Davis, T. (2013). The new big book of U.S. presidents: Fascinating facts about each and every president, including an American history timeline. Philadelphia: Running Press Book Publishers.

Citation By: Kayla Stewart

Type of Reference: Biographical Reference

Call Number: Ref 920

Content/Scope: This text contains biographical information about each president starting with Washington and ending with Obama. This text includes important facts about each president as well as important events that occurred during each president’s presidential terms. There are also sections on each president’s page for information about important accomplishments that occurred during the time periods that the presidents were in office.

Accuracy/Authority/Bias: This text was updated for the year 2013 and has had many editions. The information presented is all factual, and not presented out of a personal opinion for any of the presidents.

Arrangement/Presentation: The text is arranged in chronological order, beginning with Washington and ending with Obama. Each page has pictures of the presidents. The presentation makes it easy for the reader to find the president that the reader is seeking.

Relation to Other Works: Time for Kids publishes a similar book about the presidents, but they have not published a 2013 edition. Since this text was published in 2013 it is a more accurate and complete reference source to use when studying presidents.

Accessibility/Diversity: There are many graphics displayed in this text, which makes it appeal to visual learners. The timeline included in the text also appeals to those who are visual learners. Each president represents different interests and hobbies which will appeal to diverse readers.

Cost: $12

Professional Review: Whitehurst, L. (2013). The new big book of U.S. presidents: Fascinating facts about each and every president, including an American history timeline. School Library Journal, 59(5), 134.

[C. Conner]

Could have been better had the author done the following:

Fact checking - In the War of 1812 the British burned parts of Washington including the President's House (White House) in August of 1814, not April as indicated in the book.

Grammar - Author began an inordinate number of sentences with subordinate clause and had errors such as ending sentences with prepositions.

Punctuation - Several formatting errors and misspelled words.

Subjectivity - Author added personal comments in unnecessary places when presenting the facts would have sufficed.

Overall the book is an interesting and informative read for someone wanting to find out general facts about our Presidents.

[jskindle]

Worst presidential book

The preview didn't justify the shallow information of each President listed.

Butter go to Wikipedia. If this book listed for 99 cents. Then it might worth a purchase and becoming 2 stars.

[L.L. Gappa]

Exactly the type of overview I was looking for- not only about the presidents, but the time period they served in, the struggles the country faced, and other important events that happened during that time.

[Matt]

Pretty good. Could use in group work in the classroom.

[Theresa]

New Big Book of U.S. Presidents
Frey, Marc
a short resource about the us presidents, stops at George W H Bush

[Jo Lisa]

Started June 19th..
Finished July 7th..

[Linda]

I was disappointed.