Presidential Diversions PDF Download

Author: Paul F. Boller
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780151006120
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 444

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Book Description
Paul F. Boller, Jr.'s widely admired and bestselling anecdotal histories have uncovered new aspects and hidden dimensions in the lives of our presidents. Now he turns to an uncharted--but unexpectedly revealing--element of our leaders' personalities as he brings us stories of what the presidents did for fun.In thumbnail portraits of every president through George W. Bush, Boller chronicles their taste in games, sports, and cultural activities. George Washington had a passion for dancing and John Quincy Adams skinny-dipped in the Potomac; Grover Cleveland loved beer gardens and Woodrow Wilson made a failed effort to write fiction; Calvin Coolidge cherished his afternoon naps, as did Lyndon Johnson his four-pack-a-day cigarette habit; Jimmy Carter was a surprisingly skilled high diver and Bush Senior loved to parachute. The sketches revitalize even the most familiar of our leaders, showing us a new side of our presidents--and their presidencies.

Author: Kenneth T. Walsh
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315303973
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
With the advent of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as presidential nominees, the examination of the role of celebrity culture in the White House takes on a fresh appeal. This book, by award-winning White House correspondent and presidential historian Kenneth T. Walsh, takes a detailed and comprehensive look at the history of America’s presidents as "celebrities in chief" since the beginning of the Republic. Walsh makes the point that modern presidents need to be celebrities and build on their fame in order to propel their agendas and rally public support for themselves as national leaders so that they can get things done. Combining incisive historical analysis with a journalist’s eye for detail, this book looks back to such presidents as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as the forerunners of contemporary celebrity presidents. It examines modern presidents including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt, each of whom qualified as a celebrity in his own time and place. The book also looks at presidents who fell short in their star appeal, such as George W. Bush, George H. W. Bush, Richard Nixon, and Lyndon Johnson, and explains why their star power was lacking. Among the special features of the book are detailed profiles of the presidents and how they measured up or failed as celebrities; an historical analysis of America’s popular culture and how presidents have played a part in it, from sports and television to movies and the news media; the role of first ladies; and a portfolio of fascinating photos illustrating the intersection of the presidency with popular culture. An update looking at Hillary and "the Donald" puts contemporary politics in perspective with the evolution of presidential celebrity.

Author: Val Atkinson
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 149078683X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
As far back as middle school, I developed a passion for understanding what motivated people to take the political positions they were taking. I wondered why most people couldnt see clear things clearly and why they had to be told what politicians thought and felt. Couldnt they see that for themselves? I also wondered why some people seemed to wait until things happened or unfolded before they began telling everybody why they were better than the other guy at solving the problem. I guess it wasnt until my sophomore year in high school that I began reading more in-depth American history, especially American political history. I became interested in the second Adlai StevensonDwight Eisenhower presidential race. I didnt know anything about politics or economics. All I knew was that we didnt have very much and some other people had lots, lots more. I thought Stevenson was on the side of those that didnt have very much, so obviously, I wanted him to win. Little did I know that he was running against a Republican war hero and that Republicans were trying to paint the Democratic Party as sellouts because of their 1948 and 1952 platforms on racial desegregation. I had no idea that everything said in a presidential campaign didnt have to be the truth. I didnt think these grown men would lie just to win a job. Of course, I had lots of growing up to do. So from that point forward, I committed myself to the pursuit of truth in politics. I found that uncovering the truth about the American political process in the twenty-first century was far more than just a notion, and theres still lots left to do.

Author: Val Atkinson
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1698716699
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
The second edition of Distractions is an updated copy of the original book written in 2018. Part I (Conservative Strategies) outlines how conservatives deal with the critical issues of communications, the economy, the electoral process, the law, and DEMOCRACY. Part II (The “G’s”) focuses on the issue areas used mainly by the GOP to gain acceptance in the eyes of the general public. An additional chapter has been added — “Gerrymandering”. With the advent of Citizens United, The Gutting of the 1965 Voting Rights Act with the ruling in the Shelby Co. v. Holder case, The Chiafalo v. Washington case, Heller, and Dobbs v. Jackson already decided, Gerrymandering became the cherry atop the sundae. Afterword has been revised and an appendix added which includes: A Timeline, An example of a Literacy Test, and a copy of the Constitution of the Confederate States of America with cited changes from the U.S. Constitution. Examples of the media gaslighting its reading audience for ratings and the profits they generate are included as well. Emphasis are placed on the future of the GOP after the Trump led fiasco of January 6th. There is also a great deal of attention placed on the lead-up to the 2024 General Election under the pending dispositions of the various Trump indictments. Conservatives’ immigration woes and their fear of the United States becoming a “Colored” country are discussed, and gun violence and the policing of the Black man in America is given added attention, and the Biographical section was expanded.

Author: Richard Lederer
Publisher: Gibbs Smith Publishers
ISBN: 9781423602101
Category : Games
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Book Description
Presents entertaining details about the lives of the United States presidents in a compilation of fascinating facts and historical trivia that encompasses everything from politics and policy to presidential nicknames, White House pets, presidential diversions, and more.

Author: Diversion Books
Publisher: Diversion Books
ISBN: 1635766699
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
The full transcript of one of the most shocking testimonies of the Trump Era and in the history of the United States government. “I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump’s illicit acts…. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat.” —from Michael Cohen’s Opening Statement to the House Oversight Committee “Michael Cohen…was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time.” —President Donald J. Trump On February 27, 2019, with the world watching, Michael Cohen—former lawyer and fixer for President Donald J. Trump—took the stand in front of the House Oversight Committee and delivered one of the most sensational days of Congressional testimony in history. Not since President Richard Nixon’s White House counsel John Dean turned on him during the Watergate scandal has a close presidential associate attacked the character of the chief of state and charged him with criminal acts. Here in one volume is living history—the hard-hitting prepared statements, the damning evidence, the salacious charges, the belligerent questioning, and the stunning revelations.

Author: Tevi Troy
Publisher: Regnery Publishing
ISBN: 1621570398
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
Explores how U.S. presidents' cultural pursuits shaped their leadership while examining how the reading habits of early presidents have been sidelined by such technological advances as the radio, the television, and the Internet.

Author: Richard J. Ellis
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700615806
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
In office less than half a year, President George Washington undertook an arduous month-long tour of New England to promote his new government and to dispel fears of monarchy. More than two hundred years later, American presidents still regularly traverse the country to advance their political goals and demonstrate their connection to the people. In this first book-length study of the history of presidential travel, Richard Ellis explores how travel has reflected and shaped the changing relationship between American presidents and the American people. Tracing the evolution of the president from First Citizen to First Celebrity, he spins a lively narrative that details what happens when our leaders hit the road to meet the people. Presidents, Ellis shows, have long placed travel at the service of politics: Rutherford "the Rover" Hayes visited thirty states and six territories and was the first president to reach the Pacific, while William Howard Taft logged an average of 30,000 rail miles a year. Unearthing previously untold stories of our peripatetic presidents, Ellis also reveals when the public started paying for presidential travel, why nineteenth-century presidents never left the country, and why earlier presidents-such as Andrew Jackson, once punched in the nose on a riverboat-journeyed without protection. Ellis marks the fine line between accessibility and safety, from John Quincy Adams skinny-dipping in the Potomac to George W. clearing brush in Crawford. Particularly important, Ellis notes, is the advent of air travel. While presidents now travel more widely, they have paradoxically become more remote from the people, as Air Force One flies over towns through which presidential trains once rumbled to rousing cheers. Designed to close the gap between president and people, travel now dramatizes the distance that separates the president from the people and reinforces the image of a regal presidency. As entertaining as it is informative, Ellis's book is a sprightly account that takes readers along on presidential jaunts through the years as our leaders press flesh and kiss babies, ride carriages and trains, plot strategies on board ships and planes, and try to connect with the citizens they represent.

Author: Paul F. Boller
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 0875654983
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
Since he first began writing in the 1950s, Dr. Paul F. Boller Jr. has had a passion for sharing the humorous, intriguing, and little-known or widely misunderstood aspects of the American presidency. Boller has authored many beloved books on American presidents, the first ladies, presidential anecdotes, quotes, campaign strategies, and common myths. This wide variety of topics has been collected for the first time in Essays on the Presidents, along with new essays and forewords. Boller's prose, distinct and inviting, causes the reader to see what is often overlooked in the history of American presidents: their humanity. Boller has searched for those patriotic narratives we have all heard at some point in our lives—whether from our schoolteachers, coworkers, or various trivia books—and corrects the misconceptions many Americans deem as truth in a lighthearted and truly characteristic voice. From Washington's relationship with the Jews to the electioneering and stump-speaking associated with American presidential campaigns, readers will not only see the significant changes in the presidential office since its conception, but also Boller’s lifetime of research and his expertise in the field of American history. Personality—of the most interesting presidents and of Boller himself—is an important theme throughout this collection. The in-depth retelling of treasured American stories will captivate readers and keep them exploring for more nuggets of truth. Boller tracks the relationship between Americans and the presidents, uncovering the intricate nature of presidential responsibilities and the remarkable men whose leadership shaped the office into what it is today. Celebrating the commanders-in-chief and the career of the nationally-recognized American historian and TCU Emeritus Professor of political science, Essays on the Presidents serves as a unique perspective on American history that fans of both Boller and the presidents will enjoy.

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Public Works. Subcommittee on Rivers and Harbors
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Illinois Waterway (Ill.)
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
Committee Serial No. 85-2. Considers legislation to authorize Illinois and the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago to test the effect of increasing the diversion of water from Lake Michigan into the Illinois Waterway.