The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency

written and narrated by John Dickerson


I don't tend to read books about current events; I like to read about events well after the fact, when the historians and commentators have had a chance to put things into perspective. However, it is the rare occasion when my son, the presidential trivia buff, tells us that we have to read a book. So I read it -- and I am going to have to read it again because Dickerson has packed so much into a relatively short amount of space  -- 16 hours/650pp -- that it is going to take me at least two passes to soak it all in.

 

Author John Dickerson is a television news commentator who has lived in and covered the Washington beat his entire life (not that I have every seen him on TV or follow his reporting-- or most other news reporters, for that matter). He has done his homework. This isn't just an opinion piece without citations; this is a well thought out essay full of examples and quotations from presidents and historians. It is a balanced analysis; presidents have their good moments and their bad moments. They get some things right and some things wrong -- even the unpopular presidents. But the American presidency is suffering --and has been for a while -- and Dickerson delves into the topic with much insight for the American voters and international spectators.

 

If you have any interest in the American Presidency, this title should be on your shelf.

 

Four and half stars.

BL-opoly: Defending My Choices

I have always thought that half of the fun of our bookish games is listening to my bookish buddies talk about why they have chosen a specific book. The other half of the fun quotient is rolling the dice and making the moves and seeing where I land.  I am delighted that in this sexagenarian body, a child still lurks...somewhere.

I think I commented in a previous post that I decided that, since I do not have a huge TBR, that I would start looking for my reads in the oldest audio additions to my library and so far I have done that for three titles.

The first time I landed on Square 15, I found two covers with trees in quick success -- Tarzan of the Apes and Swiss Family Robinson -- decided to read Tarzan. I just landed on Square 15 again. My first thought was, "Not, Swiss Family"  It is too much like Tarzan-- a story from my childhood. And not another Evans Above or Walt Longmire because I always seem to fall back on those two for trees or mountains.

So I went back to my first additions, glancing at covers and scanning titles for pictures of trees or mountain settings. I was so delighted to find a Carl Hiaasen with a tree on the cover because I really do need to read something that is entirely off the wall, especially after reading The Guernsey Literary Society etc. I like that it has a tree on the cover but has absolutely nothing to do with mountains; in fact it is set in a state who highest elevation above sea level is the lowest in the country at a mere 345 feet (105m). Hiaasen-land is populated with crazy insane people and I am looking forward to spending time with them.