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kayoft's review
3.0
Fascinating human stories nearly buried in details and minutiae and yet interesting and thought-provoking in light of current political climate
guinness74's review
5.0
Per FTC rules: I received a free copy of this book as a giveaway from Goodreads First Reads.
Fair warning: this may be the first presidential biography I've ever read, however, it was well done in my honest opinion. I'm not typically an audio book fan, but this was (short of some words I thought were mispronounced) very well done. I've always felt Coolidge was underrated as a President and this biography bears that out to some degree. Honestly, aside from some of his policies, this is one Republican I could get behind. Interestingly, I found it interesting that Coolidge predicted the market crash of '29 and I wonder if his policies, had he sought another term, would have staved off the Depression, or at the very least made it less devastating. I recommend this book, if for no other reason, to learn more about a President who gets precious little press.
Fair warning: this may be the first presidential biography I've ever read, however, it was well done in my honest opinion. I'm not typically an audio book fan, but this was (short of some words I thought were mispronounced) very well done. I've always felt Coolidge was underrated as a President and this biography bears that out to some degree. Honestly, aside from some of his policies, this is one Republican I could get behind. Interestingly, I found it interesting that Coolidge predicted the market crash of '29 and I wonder if his policies, had he sought another term, would have staved off the Depression, or at the very least made it less devastating. I recommend this book, if for no other reason, to learn more about a President who gets precious little press.
gls_merch's review
4.25
A rare biography of a largely, forgotten president. Traditionally, historians have not rated Coolidge highly because of the scandals surrounding his predecessor, the perception that his policies favored big business and the wealthy, and blame for The Great Depression that soon followed the end of his Administration. I, and the author of this biography, tend to believe those criticisms are quite unfair and inaccurate. Coolidge, if nothing, is clearly a man of integrity and conviction, which is rare in modern day politics. His understanding of economics avoided many of the wrong-headed solutions that you would find proposed by politicians today (e.g. bailouts, handouts). Despite tax cuts, his policies led to budget surpluses and a 33% shrinking of the Federal debt. This book is great way for readers to be re-introduced to someone that has largely been forgotten, and in my book will surely rank higher in impact and legacy than the recent Rouge's Gallery of morons, criminals, and warmongerers (Bush/Clinton/Obama).
joyfulme's review
4.0
Phenomenally thorough biography for a man who was silent and whose greatest impact was felt in areas as dry as tax policies and tariffs, and whose greatest accomplishments were wiped out by his immediate successors. How thorough? When Coolidge receives a gift, we are told who gave it, from where it was purchased, and Coolidge’s opinion of the establishment. We are told the shops he visited on vacation, the name of the officiant of his wedding, the titles of the books on his shelves. The author takes a paragraph to discuss the police union president even though he won’t feature again in the rest of the book, but in the minutiae one develops a more comprehensive picture of the type of work history that might be found in a prominent police office in Boston. And similarly, one walks away from this dense biography with a much clearer picture of life in the 1920s, which in turn increases our understanding of Coolidge himself, and the landscape of political and economic philosophy of the times. By the end of the book I found that I was irrationally sympathetic with Coolidge. Hoover annoys me. And Roosevelt infuriates me. I want to sit on Coolidge’s front porch and brood alongside him. How am I suddenly so drawn to politics that have long since passed? At the same time, at 450+ pages, I was eager to move on.
aks_maine's review
2.0
I was excited to read this, since I knew next to nothing about Calvin Coolidge and am all about history. But as I completed the first sentence of the introduction, I realized that this might not be the best book ever written. I read a lot of history, so I know that less than popular topics can be brought to life, but this book just didn't deliver. There are bits and pieces that are semi-interesting, but this really isn't worth the time. The writing is disjointed, the subject matter poorly organized, and not very well edited.
bookstuff's review
3.0
I enjoyed reading about Coolidge's early life & start of his law career. I got bored after ... I think the book suffers from being too chronologically-oriented. Nearly a 3rd of the way in and I still did not get a compelling narrative of the man's life.
kcsmith's review against another edition
4.0
I am amazed at the depth of research and details brought out by Amity Shlaes in her biography on Calvin Coolidge. This was a well researched book and provides good lessons for even for today.
He is a president not well known today. I had heard very little about the man prior to reading this book. After reading it, I have grown to admire his principled and humble leadership.
History has proven that Coolidge’s approach to government through lower taxes and spending benefited all, both rich and poor. He was unique, even in his own time, in that he was willing to stick with his principles even at the expense of his own political career and popularity.
Shlaes brought out the human side of him as well, particularly in dealing with the tragic death of his son. The presidency, as it has been for every man to take the office, was a tremendous burden.
The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is that I just thought it was a little too long for me.
He is a president not well known today. I had heard very little about the man prior to reading this book. After reading it, I have grown to admire his principled and humble leadership.
History has proven that Coolidge’s approach to government through lower taxes and spending benefited all, both rich and poor. He was unique, even in his own time, in that he was willing to stick with his principles even at the expense of his own political career and popularity.
Shlaes brought out the human side of him as well, particularly in dealing with the tragic death of his son. The presidency, as it has been for every man to take the office, was a tremendous burden.
The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is that I just thought it was a little too long for me.
davidbess's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating biography of one of the lesser known presidents. Perhaps the main reason he is lesser known is that he did such a good job keeping the country from experiencing economic and military adversity. Had Hoover continued his fiscal policies, the Great Depression might never have happened. Very good read.
curtispaulostler's review against another edition
I could not finish this, barely got through the first few chapters. I picked it up without knowing the author, in hopes of learning more about "Silent Cal" and one of the presidents from my home state. But two things bothered me in as much as I read: 1) It is so obviously slanted toward a right wing agenda (I did not notice until after I had bought it, read some, and got frustrated with it that one of the recommendations on the jacket was from Paul Ryan), making some large assumptions about what was right and wrong with an obvious tone; and 2) it was not very well written. The narrative jumps back and forth chronologically, even within a paragraph, and many of the sentences are incoherent, even if they are grammatically correct. It was as if there was no content editor, just a spell-checker. One small example: any professional editor would know the difference between "further" and "farther" but those words are confused in this book.
I marked this as "read" only because I do not want it in my current or to read list. I will not give it a star rating, since I do not believe it is fair if I have not finished the book. I will keep it on hand for some reference of the time period, and if I ever do finish it, I may revisit the review and rating.
I marked this as "read" only because I do not want it in my current or to read list. I will not give it a star rating, since I do not believe it is fair if I have not finished the book. I will keep it on hand for some reference of the time period, and if I ever do finish it, I may revisit the review and rating.