Doug Wead

This is an interesting look at the parents of the presidents. Most presidents get just a little space, but the book does a deep dive into a select few and those are the most interesting. I think the chapters on the Bush legacy may be the most interesting, although it was written when George W. Bush was still early in his second term, and the author notes that they need more time to truly be able to write about him with any distance.

From the cover of the book, I expected it to be somewhat partisan. "The inside story of Hillary Clinton's failed campaign and Donald Trump's winning strategy". However, I was unprepared for what lay inside.
Wead not only completely and utterly lays the fault of everything from the fall of America to the crucifying of Christ at the hands of Clinton, he totally absolves Trump as the second coming of Christ himself. While utilizing great journalistic prose such as "the first lady ALLEGEDLY show more answered. The story was APPARENTLY corroborated by others". Granted, Clinton was a deeply flawed candidate, with a huge trunk of baggage and an apparent dislike of the truth, but to have to embellish her story with the use of allegedly and apparently is the work of a jealous high schooler who has been thrown over for a prom date. It would have been so much more effective to just lay out the facts, and let the reader make up their own mind.
Wead takes just the opposite tack with Trump. Not a word of dissent was spoken against him. Instead, readers learn of Trump's conquering of his military school, his unquestionable belief in God, and his single-handed saving of New York City in the 1970's.
Not satisfied with merely trashing Clinton, Wead turns his eye on the "evil media". Such as "CNN covered the quote, but then added its own commentary; it couldn't trust the viewers to hear Trump without a filter". And, "But the major American media had already picked the winner and they weren't interested in narratives that might confuse their audience".
I honestly could not stomach the entire book. I made it through the first 40%, by holding my nose and trying to give it a fair read. Perhaps it is too soon to objectively look at the election as the battle between two deeply flawed candidates. Hopefully we will learn from this round and improve in the future.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I only wish it was possible to assign a negative number of stars. show less

So for every ten Trump bashing books you will get one like this, Doug Wead's take on the positive side of the man. One thing is for sure with Donald Trump you will probably be polarized one way or the other.

Then of course you have those in the middle like myself who see the flaws and incessant grandstanding yet also sees the difference he makes from the cookie cutter politician approach. Love him or hate him, the guy sets his own table. Much of the animosity and vitriol directed at him comes show more from his own doing. Yet much of that same comes from those who are intolerant of anything that goes against their grain. And this is a guy who focuses on doing just that.

Wead obvious likes the man, as from cover to cover he extols the good he sees. And is also obvious that much was done from the inside of the White House to accommodate him on this take. Yet Wead also has a track record of covering multiple presidents, so he as legitimate point of reference.

What Donald Trump has managed to do in his four years of the unlikely presidency is literally stand politics on end and truly shake up the status quo. Much to the consternation of both political parties. How dare he! And that of course his intention.

Despite the many outrages and faux pas' spun by the man he also managed to push some pretty bold initiatives that the typical politician would and have shrunk from. In particular he has called to task all those countries, and that is all of them, that have eaten our lunch while we support their defense and economies as the norm. Bravo to that, something we would never have seen without him. And as pointed out in the book to the relief of the middle class taxpayers who foot the bill.

As the impeachment concludes and the next election draws nearer we will see how it all plays out. One thing is for sure, with President Trump you will never have a dull moment. show less

I liked this one even better than The Raising of a President, which was altogether absorbing. All the Presidents' Children digs into the details of the the children's lives. I learned that Maureen Reagan had been a beaten wife, which was astonishing, given her powerful personality. Patsy Jefferson took care of her father to an almost obsessive degree. Margaret Woodrow Wilson was the first American to go to India and live in an ashram. Charlie Taft devoted his entire life to bettering his show more city and his country, and was one of the founders of the ecumenical Council of Churches--just taking a bit of time here and there to go fishing. But many presidential children died of alcoholism, too. Wead draws parallels in these lives, and his results are fascinating. show less