Sunday, February 12, 2017

The Presidents Club - Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy

Sub-title: Inside the world's most exclusive fraternity

A great read to start off the New Year!  One of my book clubs chose this and there was some grumbling because of the length.  I almost put it aside and then plunged in over many evenings.

The book begins with the relationship between Truman and Hoover, then moves onto Eisenhower and follows through all the Presidents up to Barack Obama as of 2012.  One tip--make a list of the presidents in order as a crib sheet because the authors skip around events in the different president's terms and it got a bit confusing.

I found every bit of it fascinating.  As one book club member noted, these are all imperfect, flawed men who care deeply about our country, its people and its future.  They also are concerned with their individual legacy and most importantly, the continuity of the presidency.  I was surprised at the amount of support and cooperation they shared in and out of office.  I developed a greater respect for, of all people, Richard Nixon, who spent his entire life until his dying days contributing to the presidency.

I hope they do a sequel a couple of more presidents in the future.


Published:  2012  Read: January 2017  Genre: History


Memory Man - David Baldacci

I read this to review it for one of my book clubs.  I don't like mysteries and I really don't like pulp fiction.  It's formulaic writing; plug in lots of violence, a disturbed hero and a few fawning females to pursue the bad guys in an implausible crime.

The plot is about an ex-football player who was hit so hard in a play he now has perfect memory of everything, especially the murder of his wife and child.  He had been a police detective so when a high school massacre happens, he gets involved only to find out it is linked to his family's murders.

Only convinced me to continue to skip this genre.

Published:  2015   Read: February 2017  Genre: Pulp fiction