Confronting the Presidents
No Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden
Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard
St. Martin’s Press
Released last fall, this one (tragically) got lost in that shuffle: my recent cross-country relocation, an avalanche of writing deadlines, and then there was my car crash. Fortunately, Gabapentin is non-addictive, right? Anyway, given the perpetual shelf life of the book’s historical content, I hope that this will be a case of better late than never.
For those who enjoy the work of the longtime literary tag team of O’Reilly and Dugard, Confronting the Presidents will likely satisfy in a Snickers-like fashion. As a hopeless decades-long U.S. presidential history nerd, I found the book exhaustively researched. And as a result, it’s chock-full of fascinating new info and insights.
To quote the great late 20th century American poet, Tom Keifer, “The more things change, the more they stay the same” — a line evidenced as O’Reilly and Dugard offer numerous E-Ticket time-travel experiences in which we see how bitter partisan battles, accusations of election fraud, and presidential disdain for the press are as old as our nation itself.
Along the way, readers are taken down numerous roads less traveled, as we’re privy to various little-known presidential factoids. Don’t be frightened by that alligator. It’s just John Adams’ personal pet that resides in the east wing bathroom. O’Reilly and Dugard also succeed in humanizing these giant historical figures, revealing the depth of George Washington’s dental dilemmas, Thomas Jefferson’s lack of proper hygiene, James Madison’s anxiety issues, John Quincy Adams’ daily skinny-dipping regimen, and Andrew Jackson’s drooling problem, as well as modern-day disclosures, including Barack Obama’s disdain for Joe Biden.
Another famous saying, “Behind (or beside) every great man is a great woman,” is also proven throughout. To that, O’Reilly and Dugard score beaucoup bonus points for paying (almost) equal attention to the U.S. First Ladies and the significant roles they played while occupying the White House. FYI, Dolley Madison’s favorite ice cream flavor was… oyster. Make mine a double scoop in a liverwurst cone!
Be sure, Confronting the Presidents delivers all of the signature-style historical value that made O’Reilly and Dugard’s Killing… series a celebrated brand. And while it isn’t exactly a complicated read, it’s not a quick read either. Brimming with relevant graphs, maps, and interesting footnotes, the concise 44 “no-spin” chapters can be as entertaining as they are informative — recommended highly for like-minded teenage readers and seasoned enthusiasts alike.
