AMERICAN CAESARS: LIVES OF THE US PRESIDENTS, FROM FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT TO GEORGE W. BUSH PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Nigel Hamilton | 608 pages | 01 Aug 2011 | Vintage Publishing | 9780099520412 | English | London, United Kingdom American Caesars: Lives of the US Presidents, from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush PDF Book Having said all that, I'm no expert on the Presidents and have not read widely about them. Mercifully, things improve once the book gets nearer to the present day. Remains mostly objective, however at times the author's personal tastes and sympathies become apparent, which renders it not purely a factual report, but simultaneously an emotionally investing story. Hamilton's distinguished life of Field Marshal Montgomery won the Whitbread Biography Award in , but his descriptions of Bush, in my view, preclude him from being considered a serious commentator on contemporary American history. Terminology: Hamilton writes about the Litani Operation in In Defence of History by Richard J. He felt George Ws wife could have kept him from running again. As an outsider - a non-American - it is, at times, an uncomfortable read, from post-WW2 Presidents ignoring pressing social issues such as civil rights because of not wanting to deal with the maelstrom it would create in the South, to the disgusting campaigning tactics of Atwater and Rove, which helped place Bushes Senior and Junior in power. He quotes the same critics being concerned that Israel "might be seeking more Lebenstraum" a ludicrous claim in light of the fact that Israel long ago withdrew completely from Southern Lebanon and never placed as much as a single settler there. Who They Was is an electrifying autobiographical British novel: a debut that truly breaks new ground and shines a light on lives that run on parallel, but wildly different tracks. First of Four Books. Provides a fantastic top- down view of the history of the presidents, which is rich in detail, and offers mentions of events whose full outlining had to be cut from the book due to concerns of length, but a particularly studious reader can follow up on these events through independent research. More videos It's interesting to read a little about each president consecutively because you notice themes and how there is really no magic formula to be president. These are the people who have shaped politics for all of us. He also did not like Gerald Ford and Hated George w. Each chapter discusses the president before the presidency, during the presidency and aspects of his personal life. Open Preview See a Problem? And the idea that, after a "palace coup" in the White House, Bush "ceded control of economic policy" to Rove is ludicrous, as are Hamilton's remarks about the wholesale "moral depravity of Rove's huge team". To be clear, I lean liberal in most of my political thinking, but when I purchas All historians have their biases, but Hamilton unabashedly smears his bias on every page. Knowing what I know now, I would not have read it. Error rating book. Dutifully and methodically records the political journeys, presidential careers, and personal lives of each respective president of the USA, from FDR to George W. Dec 20, Jeanene rated it really liked it Shelves: books. Carr's What Is History? Great for a quick overview of each president from Roosevelt to Bush Junior. I give this book two stars because, for all its faults, it is still well-researched and well-written. Preview — American Caesars by Nigel Hamilton. Trivia About American Caesars I njoyed reading this a lot and would recommend it. It does seem a couple of our past presidents should have been taken to court for treason. Some of Hamilton's accusations contradict themselves. The 11 September attacks "changed [Bush] into a buffoon", Hamilton asserts; Cheney wanted "a hopefully long and profitable war" because he "seemed mentally unbalanced". More filters. Jun 18, Sharon Tzur rated it did not like it. No matter how much of an absolute bastard you thought Richard Nixon was, he continues to go on to be revealed to be considerably worse. The author falls for every conspiracy theory going, stating that, "with the president's approval, Cheney's office ordered the false authentication of suspect secret intelligence"; that the CIA knew for certain that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; that Tony Blair was "Bush's poodle", rather than a true believer in the project from the start; and that "America", rather than a handful of renegade Appalachian warders, was responsible for the abuses of inmates at Abu Ghraib jail. I found it very interesting and quite easy to read. Oh what a chapter there will be to add about Donald Trump Truman chapter. Some were born wealthy, other were dirt poor. It held my attention throughout each chapter. I wouldn't recommend it as a first look at the modern presidency, but it gives cogent thumbnail sketches of these biographies--and while not entirely sepatating the personal from the political, reminds us that presidents are people more or less sucessful in multiple arenas of their lives. But he certainly was not — or he would never have allowed his vice president, Dick Cheney, his defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld or his evil genius, Karl Rove, to establish such an intellectual assembly over him. Once again, he offers not a shred of evidence for such a serious allegation. Bush's campaigning style was supposedly "cynical, relentlessly focused, manipulative, largely dishonest [and] negative" due to the baleful influence of Karl Rove, who is described as "short, ugly, prematurely balding and ambitious". American Caesars: Lives of the US Presidents, from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush Writer Welcome to New York. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Showing As an outsider - a non-American - it is, at times, an uncomfortable read, from post-WW2 Presidents ignoring pressing social issues such as civil rights because of not wanting to deal with the maelstrom it would create in the South, to the disgusting campaigning tactics of Atwater and Rove, which helped place Bushes Senior and Junior in power. Equally, the assertion that Rove "evaded justice" over the "Scooter" Libby scandal, in which a CIA agent's identity was leaked, ignores the years of intensive investigation by no less tenacious a prosecutor than Patrick Fitzgerald, which concluded that Rove had no case to answer. Sign up. You've waited for it, you've demanded it - and we say thee YEA! The most interesting after Nixon who is in a category of his own, obviously must surely be Lyndon Baines Johnson - to go from the heroism of the Civil Rights Act to the insane spiralling out of control of Vietnam in a few years was incredibly disheartening and brought to mind though on a much smaller scale the descent of Tony Blair from great new hope to Bush's illegal war poodle. You are browsing in private mode. You are a vampire, struggling for survival, supremacy, and your own fading humanity— afraid of wh… More. As history - as opposed to mere polemic - this book is bunk. Overall, the book provides a vast wealth of factual historical knowledge spanning over nearly 80 years, yet to the end remains an engaging character study, with 12 fascinating subjects. Shelves: read-in Apr 22, Conrad Timon rated it it was amazing. For the last 25 years, Jim Kwik has helped everyone from celebr… More. Of course he did not have the distance to really judge W. A gobsmaking expose of the foibles, incompetencies and downright corruption of those we've always held in such high esteem. This is a big book covering ten American presidents. Videos About This Book. Bush agree but I am not a historian. View 2 comments. If anything, a little too much detail in some instances, but possibly more significant to US readers. What an achievement by Nigel Hamilton. Refresh and try again. Return to Book Page. Each presidency was addressed in three sections - The road to the White House; The presidency; and the president's private life in which the various or singular romantic and family lives of each was addressed. But he certainly was not — or he would never have allowed his vice president, Dick Cheney, his defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld or his evil genius, Karl Rove, to establish such an intellectual assembly over him. More Details That, or maybe he just can't stand the Bush family and their advisors for all that they did and didn't do in terms of foreign policy and internatio This is a concise, well-written collection of biographies of US Presidents from FDR to George W. It is only, though, when the author gets to the relative unknowns that he is better able to display his strengths. It's also instructive in understanding the current state of play in American politics, demonstrating that the entrenched attitudes of the main political players is truly a constant. I expect more objectivity from a historian. Casting historical objectivity aside, Hamilton describes Bush's "sneering contempt for those more intellectually gifted", and how he was "blinkered", "bewildered by adult life: spoiled, purposeless, self-destructive" and "ill-read to the point of near-illiteracy". For all that he hubristically equates his book with those of Lytton Strachey and Suetonius, and for all that his biography of Monty was a first-class piece of work, Hamilton this time has allowed personal loathing to obliterate his historical judgement. Bush by Nigel Hamilton. But notice again the use of loaded jargon. A few things stood out.