Confronting the Presidents - Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard

Confronting the Presidents

By Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard

  • Release Date: 2024-09-10
  • Genre: U.S. History
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 307 Ratings
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Description

Instant #1 New York Times and USA Today nonfiction bestseller!

Every American president, from Washington to Biden: Their lives, policies, foibles, and legacies, assessed with clear-eyed authority and wit.

Authors of the acclaimed Killing books, the #1 bestselling narrative history series in the world, Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard begin a new direction with Confronting the Presidents.

From Washington to Jefferson, Lincoln to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Kennedy to Nixon, Reagan to Obama and Biden, the 45 United States presidents have left lasting impacts on our nation. Some of their legacies continue today, some are justly forgotten, and some have changed as America has changed. Whether famous, infamous, or obscure, all the presidents shaped our nation in unexpected ways.

The authors' extensive research has uncovered never before seen historical facts based on private correspondence and newly discovered documentation, such as George Washington's troubled relationship with his mother.

In Confronting the Presidents, O’Reilly and Dugard present 45 wonderfully entertaining and insightful portraits of each president, with no-spin commentary on their achievements—or lack thereof. Who best served America, and who undermined the founding ideals? Who were the first ladies, and what were their surprising roles in making history? Which presidents were the best, which the worst, and which didn’t have much impact? How do decisions made in one era, under the pressure of particular circumstances, still resonate today? And what do presidents like to eat, drink, and do when they aren’t working—or even sometimes when they are?

These and many more questions are answered in each fascinating chapter of Confronting the Presidents. Written with O’Reilly and Dugard’s signature style, authority, and eye for telling detail, Confronting the Presidents will delight all readers of history, politics, and current affairs, especially during the 2024 election season.

Reviews

  • folksy, informal, fun

    4
    By Judystep
    “ There have been bad people elected to the highest office of the land as well as noble ones. It’s sometimes difficult to make the judgment. ..we, the authors, will decide based on the facts we have uncovered.” O’Reilly’s Trumpian hubris is never far from the surface, and one must always bear in mind that this was published before the 2024 election. Organized into brief, very entertaining, chapters, this book gives a glimpse of the private and public life of each US president. Written is a folksy, informal style, it is filled with many interesting and just fun facts, like the history of Baby Ruth candy bar. Although the format begins to become a little tedious around the time of Martin Van Buren, you do know what to expect. Each chapter begins with a seminal event from the President’s biography and including a wikipedia type inventory of his life - with special emphasis on what he ate for breakfast. At the end of each chapter is a final reckoning on each President’s performance as a human being and as the chief executive of the United States. Often these are at odds. A big picture emerges, emphasizing the country’s ongoing debate between the disdain for a strong central government and the need for it; the repulsion to slavery and the economic necessity of it; the need for a strong president and the fear of it. The most important take away from “Confronting the Presidents” is the confirmation that history never occurs in a vacuum. The successes and mistakes of one government seamlessly impel the next. Some of the US Presidents were born to be great, some achieved greatness, but most had greatness thrust upon them. Many were compromise candidates appointed vice president to appease various political factions. Forty-five pretty interesting men somehow meandered into the US Presidency. Once they got there, only a few handled it well.

  • Confronting The Presidents

    5
    By AngryBird<3
    This is a must read. It's both comforting, and concerning. What we face in this country has been going on since it's inception.

  • Confronting the Presidents

    5
    By CreekNine
    A well written book that is very easy to read and enjoy

  • Interesting but Disappointing

    2
    By TomB-11
    It’s a fairly easy read with some interesting insights regarding some of the early presidents. However, the book feels unfinished as the Trump and Biden presidencies were handled via essay rather than a dedicated chapter. It almost felt like the book was written a number of years ago and the last two presidents were an addition to the prior work. Also there was an embarrassing error when the authors indicated that Geraldine Ferraro had run with Michael Dukakis rather than Walter Mondale - certainly an unexpected error by “historians”.

  • Confronting the Presidents

    2
    By rjAbronco
    Good in the beginning but then the RINO in O’Reilly comes out

  • Almost the best book these authors have written, almost.

    3
    By Davidwyatt6
    I really enjoyed this book. It was not until the ending I would have said it one of Bill and Martin’s most informative fun reading they have done. Sadly that changed when Martin unrealistically sang the praises of Joe Biden. I finally stopped reading it when Martin claimed falsely, among other things, that Joe Biden inherited a Porous Southern Boarder from Trump.

  • Confronting the Presidents

    3
    By macbill1
    Page 470, the authors get it wrong by listing the losing democratic ticket as Michael Dukakis and Geraldine Ferraro, Dukakis’s running mate was Lloyd Bentsen.

  • Good book

    4
    By BirdoWorky
    I felt like this was a good, well written book. It does a good job of giving an on the surface history of each of our presidents of these United States. My only complaint is that we did not get enough personal commentary from the authors on their own views regarding the presidents themselves. In his promotion of the book, O Reilly seemed to be hinting that there would be more of that. Overall I’d recommend this book to anyone wanting a generalized history of each of the presidents, and a brief glimpse into what made each of them tick. It did not change my opinion of the fact that Joe Biden is the single worst president this country has ever had.

  • Confronting the Presidents

    1
    By wallace wonder
    Amazon screwed me!

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