Our American Presidents: Their Lives & Legacies, Volume 1

Presidential history enthusiasts, students, and others will find much to like in this compendium that hopscotches through America’s timeline of leadership from George Washington to Ronald Reagan. Between those bookends, Our American Presidents offers thumbnail sketches of Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy. Rather than take a strictly chronological approach, this series bounces around, avoiding looking as if it’s stuck in the 18th and 19th centuries with few archival materials that will visually pop. Some cute animation helps blow the dust off the most ancient of past administrations, along with perky clips from silent era movies dramatizing subjects such as Roosevelt’s Rough Riders and young Lincoln in some kind of brawl. Of course, once actual news footage of 20th-century presidents and the country’s contemporaneous challenges (wars, Jim Crow) is available, the visuals add strong support to the mini-narratives. This is especially true in the televised images of the charismatic Kennedy. Our American Presidents steers clear of controversial subjects, such as slave-owner presidents (although there is mention of Jefferson’s relationship with Sally Hemings) and the true extent of federal decimation of indigenous nations (Jackson’s role in the Trail of Tears is briefly noted). Helpful bullet-point summaries at the end of chapters underscore highlights of each president’s contributions to history. Recommended. Aud: E, I, J, P. (T. Keogh)