Description
Book Synopsis'Crisp and witty' Charles Moore, Spectator
'A brilliant survey of the occupants of the Oval Office' Daniel Johnson, Article
'Witty and succinct with splendid caricatures' Tibor Fischer, Critic
A spirited and entertaining aide-memoire offering 44 short, fascinating accounts of each president, from George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to Barack Obama and Donald Trump, bringing the United States' political history to life as never before.
Who can name the eight presidents before Lincoln, or the eight presidents after him? Historians tend to shed light on just a handful of leaders: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and perhaps half a dozen others within living memory, leaving at least 30 holders of office if not in total darkness, then at least in deep shadow.
Helping to bring these forgotten figures into the light, Andrew Gimson's illuminating accounts are accompanied by sketches from Guardian sartirical cartoonist, Martin Rowson, making this the perfect gift for all lovers of history and politics - the experienced and the novice, the serious and the silly.
The Sunday Times bestselling Gimson's Prime Ministers and Gimson's Kings & Queens are also available.
Trade ReviewThis is history at its liveliest and most enjoyable. Most presidential biographies are abominably long-winded and reverential. With miniaturist wit and precision, Gimson manages to compress all the salient facts about each president into five or six pages, while offering beautifully crafted insights into their characters and temperaments ... There is something fascinating or funny on every page -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *
Witty and succinct with splendid caricatures * Tibor Fischer *
Brilliant -- Matt Chorley
Terrific -- John Rentoul
Andrew Gimson’s hugely enjoyable collection of biographies of the 44 US Presidents (not 45, I have learned) is rendered all the more fun, as his books ever are, by Martin Rowson’s cartoons. * Tom Holland *
