A Book About Each President

Years ago, after George W Bush was elected president the first time, I came up with the idea of reading a book about each of our chief executives, partially to deal with my despondency about his victory, and partially to see how our other presidents, and the times they were chief executive, compared.  This plan fell by the wayside, but after Donald Trump was elected, the idea came back to me, and this time I followed through.

At this time, I have read at least one book about every president from Barack Obama to Zachary Taylor.  I am currently reading about James Polk, and plan to read about the remaining presidents, as well.  I have also read about other major characters who played significant roles in our country's history during these times.

What I discovered through this reading was totally different than what I had expected.  I actually studied American History in college when I was pursuing my undergraduate degree, and thought I knew quite a bit about at least part of this country's history.  I discovered I actually knew very little.

Those presidents whom I had always revered, and held the highest opinions of, ended up being some of the presidents I actually liked the least when I read about them.  Other presidents I had intensely disliked turned out to be more likable as I learned more.  Then there were those presidents who I had learned very little about, and all of us hear very little about today, who turned out to be, in my opinion, some of our most heroic chief executives.

I also discovered other things about my country's history that I had never really been aware of, one of the most disturbing of which was the racism evinced against so many groups of people who ultimately became American, or already were.  I knew a little of this from college, but it was merely the tip of the iceberg.

This blog is about what I have learned about American history so far, and what my opinions are after the reading I have done.  This has been a journey of discovery for me, not just about my country and its leaders, but about myself.  It has changed what I consider to be my political affiliation, and it has changed what I believe about my country.  Mostly it has changed what I believe about myself.

I would like to emphasize that this has never been about offending or insulting anyone.  At most, it is an attempt to make the people who read this blog more aware of what actually did happen in our history.  My interpretation of that history is simply that.

I have, at this time, deliberately omitted President Donald Trump, as he has been in office such a short time, and I have not yet read a book about him.  My opinion of him thus far is based only on current events, and therefore really too raw to discuss at this time.

The first president I will write about is President Barack Obama, after reading his own book, Dreams From My Father.