The awakened eye: A companion volume to The Zen of seeing, seeing/drawing as meditation

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The awakened eye: A companion volume to The Zen of seeing, seeing/drawing as meditation
Frederick Franck
Manufacturer: Knopf : distributed by Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Zen of Seeing: Seeing/Drawing as Meditation

Zen Seeing, Zen Drawing: Meditation in Action

ASIN: 0394506839

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Good Book -- Except......

dated, but fantastic

wow, glad I got this one from the library first. Saved me a pile of money for other better books.

There Are Better Books On French Style

More than just dated.... ANCIENT

French Chic: How to Dress Like a Frenchwoman
Susan Sommers
Manufacturer: Villard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Italian Chic: The Italian Approach to Elegance

Frederic Fekkai: A Year of Style

A Guide to Elegance: For Every Woman Who Wants to Be Well and Properly Dressed on All Occasions

The Parisian Woman's Guide to Style

All You Need to Be Impossibly French: A Witty Investigation into the Lives, Lusts, and Little Secrets of French Women

ASIN: 0394547047
Release Date: 1988-07-12

Customer Reviews:

Good Book -- Except.............2006-10-25

The fashions in the book are dated. However, the advice is excellent and fun to read.

Most of the tips are timeless and that is why this book is good.

It is also a fashion "blast from the 80s past" portfolio.

The reason I am giving the book 4 stars instead of 5 is because so many of the photos show women with cigarettes! I know times have changed, but there is something so utterly "uncharming" about a woman (or a man for that matter) smoking.

All in all, a good book, but not as good as "Italian Chic".

I got my copy for $15, so I figure it was a pretty good value.

dated, but fantastic.......2006-09-24

i ordered this book for a good price thinking i could re-sell it if it was terrible. i was nervous that it was so dated (88) and upon first glance it was. leggings and oversized sweaters were pictured in the photographs but i decided to give the text a chance and i'm glad i did. the first few chapters were my favourites in the book and i think explained things the best. of course, you have to use your smarts to translate some things into modern times (the section on jeans, etc) but the majority of the ideas and concepts outlined are still true today. after finishing the book, i picked up a copy of french vogue, elle, and cosmopolitain and looked at the fashions for frenchwomen today and they were still utilizing the same things: plaint white t shirt, neutral colours, polo shirts, varied textures, black and white, pearls and chains, etc. i haven't read any other books on french fashion but after studying fashion and visiting france i don't know what could be much better than this book. it seems after reading it that any newer books would be too muddled with trends and not as focused on the basics.

wow, glad I got this one from the library first. Saved me a pile of money for other better books........2006-07-27

Well the text IS interesting; but the suggestions are hugely out of date, which makes reading it like sifting thru a junk store box of "treasures" in search of the one jewel or two that might be in there. Maybe.

I have to agree with another reviewer here, I chuckled at the Annie Hall colliding with eighties Madonna. That is EXACTLY what the photos depict. That and the couch smuggling comment. Yes, it really does look like a couch got stuck between her shoulder blades.

Well photos aside, and they were bound to be dated;

---the text isn't that great. I was hoping it would have something better, something more than the current offering of french chic books have.

I suggest you try to get it thru interlibrary loan FIRST before spending the 100$ plus that copies of this one will set you back on the second hand book market.

It was a good book in it's day, but Leah Feldon's Dressing Rich has worn better thru time than this one in spite of being about the same publication dates.

Leah's book is a true classic about classics that wear well. She too discusses minimal capsule wardrobe building to begin with and how to add, what to look for in a quality garment, and what to go cheap with and what you absolutely must spend big money on.

That particular book of Leah's covers all the best points that French Chic makes without the distracting and bizarre fashion photos.

For developing your own version of French Chic Anne Barone wrote Chic and Slim and it's sequels (now 3 books, --if you can't get them at Amazon, try her website) and those three have excellent tips on french chic style as well as one of the best weight loss french method that I've encountered yet,

Check out Entres Nous by Debra Ollivier for a lovely light but intelligent look at the french chic mystique and how to develop it. She covers a bit about clothing, and a lot about manners and developing a bit of reserve.

Frederic Fekkai's A year of Style is wonderful. In a class by itself. It is out of print, and I found that a large Canadian bookstore still had remainders for under 10$ which is terrific as long as it lasts.

I wasn't impressed by The Parisian Woman's Guide to Style by Virginie Morana so do try that one before buying, by taking it out of the library first.

All in all, I'd buy Anne Barone's books, along with Leah Feldon's Dressing Rich book, Frederick Fekkai's book, and Entre Nous. Maybe I'd add Mary Lou Andre's Ready to Wear, and Mme Dariaux's A Guide to Elegance and be much further ahead for less money. The Lucky Shopping Manual if there is money left over for more in the french chic fashionista line up on the bookshelf.

Happy reading!

There Are Better Books On French Style.......2006-07-15

This book is so out of date that it is back in style again. This year, there is a return to 1980s-inspired clothing: leggings, volume over skinny, striped tops, big hair, off-the-shoulder tops, and so on. If you are young and want to recapture 1980s style, this book is for you. I concur with other readers' views that the basic concepts of French style are timeless, if you ignore the outdated pictures. It is an interesting coffee table book if you don't take fashion seriously, but don't pay $50 for it. Instead, buy "The Parisian Woman's Guide To Style," a much more contemporary book. This book is not written by an American in Paris, like Sommers. It was written in 1999 by Virginie and Veronique Morana, two French natives who own a boutique in Paris. Although 6 years old, the pictures still look current in their simplicity. The authors have managed to capture classic French elegance without looking stodgy or outdated. See my review for that book.

More than just dated.... ANCIENT.......2006-03-07

I have no idea why this book got such raving reviews. Every week I get out a few fashion books from my local library. They help me to relax and give me design ideas. I especially love the french outlook on fashion (as well as life). When I took this book home and read it I just had to laugh. There is a handful of good tips- but not anything that other, better and more up to date books won't offer you. The photos are hideously 80's (the part of the 80's you don't want to remember... leggings shrinking under fat belts and 3 size too big T-shirts. Yeah, that bad.) Don't waste your money, or better yet- get it out from the library and have a good laugh like I did!

French Chic : how to dress Like a Frenchwoman

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French Chic : how to dress Like a Frenchwoman
Susan Sommers
Manufacturer: Arlington Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NONO9C

Average customer rating:

French Chic How To Dress Like A Frenchwoman
Sommers Susan
Manufacturer: Villard Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UIPM1Y

Book Description

Welcome to the world of clip-art karate, outrageous trash talk, and cartoon characters as you've never seen them before. The New Fighting Technique may have sprung from the crucible of cubicle culture----Rees created the strip while working a deathly boring temp job, harnessing the potential energy of his PowerPoint software, Internet connection, laser printer, and vast expanses of fallow hours into this Unstoppable ass-kicking phenomenon----but the result has less to do with clockwatching than with the explosive energy of freestyling gangsta rap, airborne Bruce Lee maneuvers, and a profane, deadpan sense of humor that just may establish David Rees as the Lenny Bruce of our times.

As soon as Rees began faxing MNFTIU comics to friends, those friends were faxing it to friends who were faxing it to more friends. It was the birth of a genuine underground publishing sensation. Soon it was a regular serial, then there was merchandise, then a website that received 25 million hits last year.

Customer Reviews:

pure genious.......2006-12-02

if you are looking for beautitful lines and gratuitous crosshatching, you won't find it here. if you are into the kind of humor where something is repeated and it keeps going on and on and on and on and on and on... and if you are a samuel l. jackson fan... you will love this.

Black and white cartoon approach to martial arts.......2004-09-06

You can't get much more straightforward about the topic of a title than My New Fighting Technique Is Unstoppable, a guide which uses the black and white cartoon approach to consider martial arts and fighting. Add a healthy dose of humor - not reflected in the title aside from tongue-in-cheek - and you have a comic description of the martial arts which may be difficult to easily pidgeonhole, but no less worthy because of its presentation and focus.

This is a comic for kinda weird people, I think..........2003-12-17

...Or so I am told.

This book is hysterical. However, it is only fair for me to point out that almost every other person I have shown it to does NOT agree with me. It truly is a book for the strange and unusual. And for the people who want to laugh out loud.

Pick this one up...well worth it.

A cultural and linguistic treasure.......2003-11-01

If we're made extinct by a nuclear war and alien visitors a thousand years from now find a vault with books representing Earth's history and culture, My New Fighting Technique is Unstoppable should represent how average Americans talked in the early 21st century. To the pointy-headed intellectuals, the book is NOT pointless, but personafies the daily struggles every individual endures to attain a goal, a dream, whether to invent a new technique, or gather up the courage to face the Circulatory System Motherf-cker. The characters approach martial arts in the most superficial and deluded way, and yet I think that's Rees' stinging indictment of our values in our artificial modern lives.

Also check out My New Filing System is Unstoppable too.

Yep, My New Fighting Technique IS Unstoppable.......2003-10-31

"My New Fighting Technique is Unstoppable" (MNFTIU for short) by David Rees is hilarious. I agree with the other reviewers when they said MNFTIU is senseless however that's the point of the book. It wasn't fashioned to follow the outline of a "normal" book. To understand MNFTIU, you need to know a little bit about the author and his intentions with MNFTIU.

David Rees draws clip art comics for Rolling Stones magazine, plays in a band, and works temp jobs where he finds his inspiration for his comics. MNFTIU is based on the clip arts he collected while working at a university community health department. This is where he found Karate Snoopy, Circulatory Man, and the ambulance drivers. The fixation with fighting and technique which is mentioned over and over again is from Rees' fascination with rap music. His characters are like rappers when they freestyle (rap). Rappers battle each other with the skillfulness of their words. The one with the best "fighting technique" emerges victorious.

This is a fun book to read if you do so with an open mind. If you're expecting to read it like Calvin & Hobbes or The Peanuts then you'll be disappointed. If you like South Park or even The Simpsons, there's a good chance MNFTIU will appeal to you. You can find samples of Rees' MNFTIU at http://unstoppable.com. He also has other works such as "Get Your War On" which can be viewed at http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/home.html. All the royalties from this book are donated to the Adopt a Landmine charity dedicated to landmine clearance in Afghanistan. So even if you don't like his comics, you have to appreciate his contributions.

Average customer rating:

Enjoyable read, if not the most accurate

1776 and all that

Richie's Picks: HAIL TO THE CHIEFS

Makes the boring Presidents look interesting

Irreverent brevity

Hail to the Chiefs: Presidential Mischief, Morals, and Malarkey from George W. to George W
Barbara Holland
Manufacturer: Permanent Press (NY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Political | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1579620817

Book Description

A compendium of the highlights and lowlights from the careers of our 43 Chief Executives—from George Washington to George Bush Junior—told with wit and accuracy, clearly demonstrating that Presidents are people, too. Under the mutton-chop whiskers, behind the bulging waistcoats, Presidents were actually human. Sometimes all too human.

For those of us who confuse President Pierce with President Polk, this easily digestible gathering of presidentia will make everything perfectly clear. Along with all the American history anyone really needs to know, anecdotes both endearing and appalling etch our leaders in our memory.

Pierce, for instance, "the hero of many a well-fought bottle," was the one who kept falling off his horse.

Jefferson was the one with the tame mockingbird that followed him around, hopping up and down the stairs behind him.

Grover Cleveland's neck was so imposing that he could pull his shirt collar off over his head without unbuttoning it.

The scowling, unsociable John Quincy Adams was surprised by a lady reporter while swimming naked in the Potomac at dawn, his bald head bobbing above the waters.

Customer Reviews:

Enjoyable read, if not the most accurate.......2007-08-03

I picked up a paperback bargain-book copy of "Hail to the Chiefs" and admit that I did not expect to get much out of it. I ended up spending several evenings being kept very entertained by the book, and feeling rather sad when it was finished.

I will not bother to repeat too much what others have said -- Holland is a witty writer, shares a glimpse of each president's personality, gives little tidbits about the political climate of each administration and who the main figures were, and in general makes the presidents seem more human than you're led to believe in high school. It's not a very deep read, but it's enjoyable nonetheless.

Her "footnotes," which can take up to a quarter of each page, are amusing but occasionally tiresome. Much of the time, the comments should simply have been included right in the paragraph, and other times, they are simply unnecessary, even as footnotes. She recycles a lot of the same jokes, but her writing style is enjoyable enough that you can overlook this for the most part.

The main issue with "Hail to the Chiefs" is that, while Holland may go overboard with including every random thought she has had as a footnote, she also -- like many other pop culture generalists who don't specialize in any particular area -- includes absolutely no endnotes or sources. You are left at once delighted with all the new things you're learning, and also wondering if any of it's really accurate. Serious students of history, prepare to be frustrated. As a reader, you don't doubt she's making it up, but at the same time, you have no reason to believe she's right, either.

Holland reminds the reader of that eccentric uncle who loves to tell wild stories that are probably mostly true, but who never says how they know any of it. As a result, she makes claims that can't easily be verified by the reader. This is particularly troublesome when she makes controversially definitive statements, seriously going so far as to say everyone else is wrong, about subjects like James Buchanan's sexuality and the Thomas Jefferson-Sally Hemmings debate. She doesn't have the qualifications to back these assertions up -- actually, no one's really sure what her qualifications are -- and if she is so certain to be correct about things, why not prove that? She also gets some secondary names wrong, which is minor...but not really.

"Hail to the Chiefs" is best with the pre-20th century presidencies. By the time she reaches Wilson, she starts losing her control; by the time she's at LBJ, you're skimming. Her commentary on these presidents seems to turn into the tabloid-style writing she manages to avoid prior to that. Holland seems to be writing her own observations on the most recent presidents rather than those of a historian. Her descriptions of Ford, Reagan, and Clinton are basically "Saturday Night Live" sketch caricatures in print.

Then again, this isn't a serious history book, so what more can one expect. Holland has written for everyone from "Entertainment" to "Playboy" to "Cat Fancy," so a generalist's take is as much as you can anticipate. "Hail to the Chiefs" isn't intended to go in-depth with any of the figures it discusses. It's intended to get you to smile.

There's certainly more substance to the book than its main counterpart, Cormac O'Brien's "Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents." If you're looking for an actual read with some length to it, this is the one of the pair to select. Then again, if you want a serious examination of the American presidency and those who shaped it, "Hail to the Chiefs" is not for you at all. This book is for amusement and little more -- and that's fine if you anticipate it.

1776 and all that.......2004-06-30

I read this book alongside "The Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents" by Cormac O'Brien (2004). The two books obviously have a lot in common, aiming as they do to reveal the "secrets" about our Chief Executives and demonstrate that they all have, or had, their flaws, their quirks, and probably more than their fair share of general weirdness. The two books tell many of the same stories, quote many of the same excerpts from the Nixon tapes, and even make the same obvious "joke" that James Monroe should have shown more originality than to die on July 4, since John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had already done that act. And they share the same People Magazine-style focus on personality and scandal ahead of questions of political or historical significance.

However, two things make "Hail to the Chief" a better book than "Secret Lives...". One is Barbara Holland's ability as a writer. Her narrative style -- as opposed to O'Brien's short-attention-span-theater reliance on short sections, text boxes, and lots of subheads and pull quotes -- makes this a much easier book to really settle into and enjoy. Her reliance on clever comments in her footnotes suggests too much time spent reading Sellar and Yeatman, or perhaps Richard Armour, but this is something the reader can get used to.

The other thing that makes this a much stronger book is illustrated by the discussion of allegations that Thomas Jefferson fathered children by his slave Sally Hemmings. This is one of those stories that "everyone knows" is true now, and O'Brien repeats it as a flat fact. Holland, however, devotes three whole pages to laying out the whole story, culminating in the truth that DNA testing in fact showed that while *some of* Hemmings' children were sired by *a* Jefferson male, they also explicitly proved that Thomas Jefferson himself *was not* the father. Holland, in short, seems to have a commitment not only to telling a good story, but also to getting the story straight. (Oddly, however, she seems to suggest that FDR used his wheelchair and his polio as campaign assets, though my understanding always was that those facts were largely kept from the American people, and certainly not emphasized for political purposes.)

Unfortunately, Barbara Holland shares one final trait with Cormac O'Brien, and that's her inability to retain her breezy objectivity and sense of comic remove when it comes to modern presidents. Nixon sends her right off the rails, her discussion of Ford can be summed up with the words "he's dumb," and, after starting by saying how much everyone loves Reagan, her summary of his term is over-the-top with mocking praise, filtered through the standard, predictable, "he was an actor playing a president" lens. The discussion of Bill Clinton is mostly about how much other people hated him, and how irrational they all were. You can imagine what she says about George W. Bush, and you'd probably be right.

The final paragraph of my O'Brien review applies here too: Maybe this book is good for a laugh or two, and it's always nice to pare down the monarchical pretensions of the modern presidency (regardless of the occupant of the office or his party) a bit. But if you're looking for a real understanding of the men who have served as president and their impact, or lack of one, on history, I'd probably suggest about three dozen other titles ahead of this one.

Richie's Picks: HAIL TO THE CHIEFS.......2003-06-12

"The main cause of the Revolution, aside from all those Adamses, was the quantity of feisty, short-tempered people on this side of the Atlantic at the time, and the quantity of unusually bossy, fat-headed chumps on the other side, topped by poor George III, who suffered from funny feelings in his head."

Sarcastic references to the temperament of John Adams, his relatives, and assorted descendants, which pop up on a regular basis throughout this book, are among the multitude of laugh out loud moments packed into this clever "tell-all" about the lives, wives, dinner parties, dalliances, and various personal difficulties that characterized the forty-three great white leaders who have served as our nation's Chief Executive.

"John Adams, back in the beginning of it all, had always felt that the Presidency should be, well, not exactly hereditary, which would be undemocratic, but just naturally reserved for a group of the right sort of families whose sons would be properly educated and trained up for public service, and dedicated to knowing what was best for the rest of us rabble. The idea still hangs around to this day, but at the time some people were upset when Adams's son John Quincy turned up."

A book that will delight and reward students who've paid attention in their middle school or high school American History classes, HAIL TO THE CHIEFS had me giggling and snorting page after page.

"Grover Cleveland...weighed nearly three hundred pounds and wore an immense walrus mustache with bits of corned beef and cabbage in it. The orator Robert Ingersoll said he could 'slip his collar off over his head without unbuttoning it,' which gives you an idea of his neck, and he had a high squeaky voice and some unrefined personal habits. I've heard that when he was practicing law in Buffalo he couldn't be bothered to go down the hall and relieved himself through his office window, and once a passerby sued.
"People called him 'the Beast of Buffalo.' He was a bachelor, and no wonder."

Footnotes, utilized for cheeky asides, are stacked up at the foot of many of the book's pages:

"Andrew Johnson should not be confused with Andrew Jackson. He didn't have Jackson's charm, or anyone else's either. 2

2 The White House staff called him 'The Grim Presence.' "

But, beyond the humor, this book provides fascinating stories and information about the Presidents that I have never run across elsewhere. The author notes of James Garfield (1881-1881):

"Garfield was tall and handsome and genial and scholarly. He believed that strikers had a right to strike and black men to vote and might have been a historically Good President if he'd stuck around long enough."

The author goes on to talk about Garfield's shooting at the hands of a disaffected job-seeker who wanted to be the American consul in Paris:

"Everyone thought Garfield was a goner, and [Vice President] Arthur was already testing out the mattresses and deciding which furniture to get rid of, but at four in the morning the President was actually quite chipper and telling funny stories. "The doctors rallied round and tried everything they could lay hands on to dig for the bullet. The bullet was minding its own business and not bothering anyone, comfortably lodged behind the pancreas out of harm's way, but the doctors couldn't rest till they'd excavated. "Dr. Bliss hauled in the big Nelaton Probe and shoved it into the wound and twisted it around and around, looking for a pathway that felt like a bullet track. It made some interesting tracks of its own, and got wedged in the broken bits of a rib and had to be wrenched back out, but it didn't find any bullet. Then Bliss poked around with his fingers for a while, and called more doctors in from all over the country to poke with their fingers too, and pretty soon Garfield was a maze of secret passageways, but the bullet stayed put. "Then Alexander Graham Bell had a better idea. He was so pleased with his telephone that he thought it could do anything, and he rigged up a receiver with a primary and secondary coil that he said would hum when it got near the bullet. He brought it around, and they rubbed it all over Garfield, and once they did hear it hum, or anyway, they thought they did. 6 Bell showed the doctors where to go in and dig deeper and wider holes, and they did, but still no luck. 7

6 Some claim it was confused by the metal bedsprings...
7 The autopsy found it a good ten inches from where Bell said it was."

HAIL TO THE CHIEFS is chock full of log cabins, land grabs, liquor, liars, and levity. Each chapter begins with a clearly reproduced full page portrait. (If there were one thing I would have added, it would have been a corresponding set of portraits of the equally quirky First Ladies whom we meet.)

For those of us who've always seen many of the Presidents as interchangeable and unremarkable, HAIL TO THE CHIEFS reveals a uniquely bizarre, er, I mean human side to our fearless leaders.

Richie Partington...

Makes the boring Presidents look interesting.......2003-06-10

I must say, I picked up this book at a local bookseller because of my love for politics and history. from the beginning of the book I immediately was drawn into Barbara Hollands humorous demeanor and writing style. She brilliantly brings the past presidents to life and pokes fun where sarcasm is due. Before reading her book I did not know that much about the lesser-known presidents- aka Martin Van Buren etc... but even for the boring presidents (Harrison's 30 days in office) she makes the history entertaining and lively.
A must buy for any political science or history fan or even the casual reader interested in a good laugh tempered by true facts of our nation's past presidents.

Irreverent brevity.......2003-02-24

These thumbnail sketches remind us not only of who all those middle-19th century one-term presidents were and when, but give us the firsts. New Hampshire's Franklin Pierce, for instance, was the first to have a Christmas tree in the White house and installed central heating too. Benjamin Harrison was the first to watch a professional baseball game And Andrew Jackson was the first "to decide that a President can veto a perfectly constitutional bill just because he doesn't like it, and he was like a kid with a new toy."

Most of the presidents known for freeing their slaves never did, but Robert E. Lee did and "he didn't wait till he was dead to do it, either." Some presidents were more interesting for their wives - Holland gives most of Madison's space to Dolley and not just his space either. Taft's wife wanted the presidency more than he did and nudged him at conferences to stay awake while Pierce's wife was so unhappy at his election, she refused to attend the inauguration.

There are scandals and wars and statesmanlike deeds, sure, but there are also pets and bratty children and fashion statements and swelled heads. A useful, funny and caustic book.

Average customer rating:

One of my favorite books

Poorly researched, not interesting, only "funny" for a few minutes...

An irreverent, entertaining resource

1776 and all that

Hail to the Chiefs: Presidential Mischief, Morals, & Malarkey from George W. to George W.
Barbara Holland
Manufacturer: Berkley Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

History | Subjects | Books | Africa | Americas | Ancient | Arctic & Antarctica | Asia | Australia & Oceania | Books on CD | Books on Cassette | Europe | Gay & Lesbian | Historical Study | Large Print | Middle East | Military | Military Science | Russia | United States | World
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ASIN: 0425194965
Release Date: 2004-05-04

Book Description

It's a cherished American freedom-the right to ridicule, gossip about, and chuckle at our Chief Executives. In this newly updated volume, acclaimed humorist Barbara Holland looks at the fascinating, the funny, and the all-too-human side of our nation's leaders, from the first George W. to the latest.

Customer Reviews:

One of my favorite books.......2007-01-15

Well written, laugh-out-loud funny in spots, and decently researched. Holland doesn't portend to shed light on the presidential record as much as she looks to find the quirks and the oddities in each president and first lady to reduce them to our level. By being funny and critical without being pointed "Hail to the Chiefs" will have you lauging, even with its heart in the right place. It's an interesting read to see how American culture changed, yet stayed strangely similar, throughout the different administrations, and how politicians' public persona can be much different from whom they are in public. Great fun!

Poorly researched, not interesting, only "funny" for a few minutes..........2005-10-26

I began reading this book, thinking it would be insightful, humorous, etc. I wasn't expecting a tour de force of Presidential politics, but this was a half-assed attempt. Essentially, it the author takes something that everyone knows about, like Carter being a peanut farmer, and then makes comments like "peanuts are weird. People don't like peanuts, and that was a problem". (Not an EXACT quote). It is humorous, but needed to interject some lesser known facts, and more interesting writing...

An irreverent, entertaining resource.......2004-09-27

Readers of any political stripe should enjoy Holland's breezy, brief and irreverent takes on our presidents. From George Washington's preoccupation with mules to George W's fitness regime, she pokes fun at personal quirks while touching on the major historical moments in each administration and showing that however bad we think things are now, they've been worse. Campaigns, for instance, are models of honesty and restraint in comparison to the days when Adams was not only accused of listening to his wife but described in the newspapers as "old, querulous, blind, crippled, toothless."

These thumbnail sketches remind us not only of who all those middle one-term presidents were and when, but give us the firsts. New Hampshire's Franklin Pierce, for instance, was the first to have a Christmas tree in the White house and installed central heating too. Benjamin Harrison was the first to watch a professional baseball game And Andrew Jackson was the first "to decide that a President can veto a perfectly constitutional bill just because he doesn't like it, and he was like a kid with a new toy."

Most of the presidents known for freeing their slaves never did, but Robert E. Lee did and "he didn't wait till he was dead to do it, either." Some presidents were more interesting for their wives - Holland gives most of Madison's space to Dolley and not just his space either. Taft's wife wanted the presidency more than he did and nudged him at conferences to stay awake while Pierce's wife was so unhappy at his election, she refused to attend the inauguration.

There are scandals and wars and statesmanlike deeds, sure, but there are also pets and bratty children and fashion statements and swelled heads. A useful, funny and caustic book.

1776 and all that.......2004-06-30

However, two things make "Hail to the Chiefs" a better book than "Secret Lives...". One is Barbara Holland's ability as a writer. Her narrative style -- as opposed to O'Brien's short-attention-span-theater reliance on short sections, text boxes, and lots of subheads and pull quotes -- makes this a much easier book to really settle into and enjoy. Her reliance on clever comments in her footnotes suggests too much time spent reading Sellar and Yeatman, or perhaps Richard Armour, but this is something the reader can get used to.

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