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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
A workmanlike review of the eight men who went from vice-president to president upon the death in office of their predecessors. Plenty of historic tidbits; Mr.Cohen has certainly done his research.
An excellent read! It overlapped nicely with other history books I’ve read recently. It was interesting and covered a lot.
Very good book on the 8 "accidental presidents", Tylee, Filmore, Johnson, Arthur, T. Roosevelt, Truman and Johnson. Two chapters on Truman were not necessary and I would have liked a chapter on Ford.
While the first half of the book was well-written and engaging, by the time the book focuses on the 20th century, the prose is rambling and begins to lack much substance. The acknowledgements indicate that the author is a Google executive and decided to eschew a research assistant, so this decline in quality smacks of hubris and "tech bro knows best" applied to disrupting the analysis of history.
Intriguing look at the eight men who became President following the death of the elected President (also looks in less detail at Gerald Ford's rise after Nixon resigned.) How they were chosen to be vice-president, how they prepared for possible succession (even though Truman knew FDR was dying, there was little transition effort, Kennedy and colleagues kept LBJ out of the loop), and what it meant that such a different person became President. Teddy Roosevelt and Truman rose to the occasion, Chester Arthur evolved, Andrew Johnson was horrible. I continue to be fascinated by the Presidents; this was an interesting take on our history. (Note: there are books about Tyler and Truman called "The Accidental President."
This fascinating book looks at the sudden transition of power that takes place when a president dies. It was filled with many things I did not know about those transitions and those presidents. I recommend.
Super interesting! I learned so much and the writing was so good that even if I knew what was coming, Cohen made it seem so dramatic and suspenseful.
informative
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced