The American President

The American President has the looks of a coffee-table book, the smarts of an academic tome, and the readability of a novel, full of interesting and little-known facts about the first 41 chief executives of the United States. (Bill Clinton is the 42nd president, but Grover Cleveland was elected president twice, before and after Benjamin Harrison, making him the 22nd and 24th president.) The Kunhardt family are producers of both historical books and documentaries, and their television background is evident in the visual emphasis within The American President--which, as it happens, is also being turned into a television documentary. Another thing that sets the book apart from countless others on the presidents is its unique organization. The presidents are not presented in chronological order, but grouped instead according to characteristics that personified them and their presidencies. For example, Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson are brought together in a chapter on professional politicians, John Adams and Jimmy Carter share space for their "Independent Cast of Mind," and Theodore Roosevelt and Richard Nixon are noted for "Expanding Power." For anyone interested in the presidency, politics, or history The American President is a wonderful library addition. --Linda Killian