Cormac O'Brien

I love books that profile the Presidents and there are many different angles to be explored out there. Here is yet another entry that says it deals with "secret lives." A bit of a teaser that line as one may think we have some very intriguing and unknown tales between the covers. Well kind of, what we get is a synopsis of what their terms produced, mostly common knowledge. But after this, topics are brought up unique to each man (yep still all men) some which has been out there before and some new uncovered material.

In chronological order we see the blemishes and peccadillos of each and every one exposed for what they were or did. I'm don't know anything of Cormac O'Brien (could he be related to Conan?)but one does soon enough get a glimpse into his political orientation particularly toward our more recent occupants. President Obama portrayed as an all round cool guy. El Presidente Donald, not so much. In fact he provides quite a buffet of venom venting here. In general a fun read with insights into the oh so real people that took up the mantle.… (mere)

I received this book for free from the publisher (Quirk Books) in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I love history, especially when it comes to topics that are not talked about much. So naturally, this book was right up on my alley.

This edition of the book features profiles of all the First Ladies, including the most recent one, Melania Trump. It gives a short biography about each First Lady and her time in the White House, as well as some fun facts and stories. There are also some fun illustrations (which I loved).

My biggest takeaway from this was that so many of the First Ladies had tragic lives. Many of them were upset and cried when their husbands became president. A lot of them had to endure a bunch of bad stuff (absent husbands, children dying, health problems, long travels, etc.) to help their husbands get to the White House. I had no idea that this was the reality for a majority of them. Their lives were not as glamorous as some may have thought.

Hardly anyone ever talks about the First Ladies (especially the earlier ones) so it was really insightful to learn more about them. They deserve more recognition than they get.

Overall, if you want a fun little history lesson on the First Ladies, then look no further, this book is for you!… (mere)

I read this book because I wanted a quick guide to the lives and personalities of the lesser known presidents, and that's exactly what it provides -- useful and very short biographical sketches of ALL the presidents. It doesn't provide much in the way of big secrets, except for the even worse than one expected philandering of some recent occupants of the office; for many presidents, "secret" lives simply equals personal lives. But that's no problem, the book gave me what I wanted. It's interesting amusing, and a very quick and easy read. Look elsewhere for profundity.… (mere)