by Cormac O’Brien
Quirk Books, $17.95, 280 pages
The history books idealize the most powerful men in the world, the presidents of the United States of America. We learn about their challenges and how they overcame them to make our country great, or what their legacy was for our country, putting the diplomatic spin on whatever the treachery might have been for them during their terms. But the reality is, these were still just human males with character flaws, selfish ambitions and in some cases, just downright bad behaviors.
Who wouldn’t rather pick up a tabloid and read some juicy gossip versus tackle a history book filled with delusions of piety? Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents: What Your Teachers Never Told You about the Men of the White House by Cormac O’Brien is a combination of tabloid and history book – only more fun! While the book lacks any truly shocking tales, it denotes a chapter for each of our 44 presidents, filling them with the political facts: age during presidency, vice president, running opponent, etc. It covers little-known or unknown tidbits of information on each one. Definitely a family fun read, all ages will enjoy flipping to their favorite president to get the skinny on their real legacy.