Thursday, March 11, 2010

Hail to the Chiefs, by Barbara Holland

Hail to the Chiefs: Presidential Mischief, Morals, & Malarkey from George W. to George W.*The full title of the book is Hail to the Chiefs: Presidential mischief, morals, & malarkey from George W. to George W.

Once again, I shopped my husband's bookshelf. It was an accident actually. I was running bathwater for a nice relaxing soak, and realized I had nothing to read while in the tub. Hubby had left his bathroom reading material on the window sill, so I decide to give it a shot.

The book helps dispel some myths about each president, and sums of his time in office in about 4-6 pages, with wit and humor. As a product of public schools, there was a lot in this book that I never knew. Heck, I think there were presidents in this book I never knew. So it certainly served its purpose to educate the American public in a way that was engaging and entertaining. However, I found it hard to interpret the author's intentions at times. I could not tell if her tone in regard to certain presidents was political satire or legitimate snark.

One caution about this book is that it does not flow well. It took me almost 4 days to read this book of less than 400 pages. It is not a book you can sit down and read for hours. My hubby had the right idea. It makes good light reading, a president at a time, while in a waiting room, the bathroom, or the tub. I struggled to push to the end of the book; the presidents I lived through were not as interesting to me.

However, I despite having to plod through the book, and the difficulty in detecting the tone, I would recommend the book to anyone interested in politics or history even slightly. It is a worthwhile addition to any bathroom library.

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