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Shall We Wake the President?: Two Centuries of Disaster Management from the Oval Office by Tevi Troy
pocketvolcano's review against another edition
2.0
Going by the title and Amazon review I bought this believing it would be a historical look at how presidents have managed past disasters and a look at what could happen in the future.
I should have read the reviews on Goodreads. That would have prevented me from buying what turned out to be more of a somewhat dry text on what presidents should and should not do as well as what individuals should and should not do in emergencies. This book was about 20% history, %80 percent policy. I initially had hoped for it because the very first topic was disease outbreaks and given I’m reading this on the tail end of the Covid outbreak it felt timely. And credit, Troy looks at Wilson’s reaction to the Great Influenza of 1918 and what he did wrong. Other parts I found interesting was the look at civil unrest towards the end when the author discussed the 1960s riots.
But if you’re looking for a strict historical book on detailed disasters and how presidents responded to them, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for a guide on how to survive potential disasters if the government is out of order then this might help - but you can find that info for free online.
I should have read the reviews on Goodreads. That would have prevented me from buying what turned out to be more of a somewhat dry text on what presidents should and should not do as well as what individuals should and should not do in emergencies. This book was about 20% history, %80 percent policy. I initially had hoped for it because the very first topic was disease outbreaks and given I’m reading this on the tail end of the Covid outbreak it felt timely. And credit, Troy looks at Wilson’s reaction to the Great Influenza of 1918 and what he did wrong. Other parts I found interesting was the look at civil unrest towards the end when the author discussed the 1960s riots.
But if you’re looking for a strict historical book on detailed disasters and how presidents responded to them, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for a guide on how to survive potential disasters if the government is out of order then this might help - but you can find that info for free online.
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