Alan Axelrod

This book covers the history of every American president from George Washington to the present day (up to the inauguration of president Obama). It contains hundreds of pertinent and interesting facts about each presidency, and catalogues the development of the role from how it was originally envisaged to what it has become in the present day. It may not be completely comprehensive but I can't really think of anything I knew that it had left out! for an American, this or something like it show more ought to be required reading at school. For interested observers from overseas, it is still very interesting - cataloguing the slow but relentless journey from the fledgling American republic to an increasingly democratic institution as first the presidency and eventually even the senate became elected by the people. You can also see how the curious system arose that led to Al Gore losing the preseidential race to George Bush despite winning the popular vote (and find out when this happened before).

Oftentimes histories that run to the present spend far too much time on the modern history whilst glossing over the past - perhaps because we know so much about the modern era and have less information about the past. This book has a bit of that, but that can perhaps be excused by the increasing importance of the American presidency both in domestic political terms and in terms of international relations, so it is not really a fault of the book.

I enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it. Maybe that makes me a complete idiot, but I suspect these guides are really for people who are not complete idiots, or at least who do not want to stay that way! show less

Middle-of-the-road, moderately satisfactory, relatively readable, and adds additional depth (not found in Chernow’s ‘definitive’ Washington biography) to an important period in Washington’s life and the beginning of the French and Indian War / Seven Years War. Could have used some additional information about the other people who appear in the narrative, such as why they are there and where they go afterwards. Also neglects to include the proper name of the Native American chief show more Tanaghrisson.

But Mr. Axelrod, we do not call someone a “half-breed” unless that term is included inside a quote from a historical source. show less

An excellent single volume, reader-friendly history of the American Revolution. I especially admired the introductory chapters which focused on the causes of the revolution. The Russian and French Revolutions were rebellions by the starving lower class. But as author Alan Axelrod makes clear, the American Revolution's causes were less clear...it was, after all, a war between peers. English mistakes laid the groundwork for revolution and the author lays them out. Loaded with sidebars, show more factoids, and photos, this is a good starting point for anyone wanting to dip into the subject. Having read several books on the topic, although by means being a date-memorizing expert, I found plenty of new information. show less

I actually enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to. Some of the 'lessons' were a bit of a stretch, or too repetitive, and at times the storytelling sort of took over to the point where the leadership lessons seemed of secondary importance, but the storytelling is quite good. I was more inclined to learn the 'don't piss off the Queen' lesson rather than the 'use your subordinates according to their strengths and don't over-supervise them' message from the bit near the end about King show more Phillip of Spain versus Queen Elizabeth's pet pirate. My biggest criticism of this book is that it assumes frequently that there is only one right leadership style, when in business and other situations where leadership skills are called for, different circumstances demand different sorts of leaders.Still, this was an enjoyable read with some useful reminders on effective people skills that work for non-leaders as well. show less