I love the idea of this book as I understood it before reading it, but don't much care for the execution. If only I had read the acknowledgements page first, in which the author thanks his editor for giving him this idea, and mentions that this first time novelist is the previous author of The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook. Oh. That would have seriously adjusted my expectations of what kind of book this was; less serious yet playful examination of American politics by an inspired novelist, and more... hired out playful silliness. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

But indeed, the worst parts of this book are when the author tries to get somewhat serious and forces Taft to speak awful political platitudes. Thankfully, those moments occur less often than the silliness: Taft learning to Wii, Taft learning to use Twitter, Taft getting drunk in a bar and listening to a bad punk band and going home with the barmaid, Taft having a digestive problem, Taft encountering modern talk show hosts. Those are somewhat amusing, so fair play to the author for that.

Now, could someone please try to convince an accomplished novelist to imagine Theodore Roosevelt returning to campaign for President in 2016? Ah well. ( )

Good idea, fun read, but could have been so much better. ( )

Nice little book. Could have been longer, I would've liked to have stayed with the characters a bit longer. ( )

The premise of this book was interesting but it just fell flat and felt predictable. I was expecting a bit more attention around how Taft emerged after 100 years - maybe some science fiction type stuff - but it didn't even touch that aspect of the story. It was also a bit disappointing that of course Taft's relative was a politician, and that they would team up. It was a cool idea but unfortunately executed poorly. ( )

Let's just say this was a weird book to read at the beginning of the 2016 presidential campaign. (Well early-mid campaign). I'd wonder if [a:Jason Heller|4025594|Jason Heller|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] were going to write the book today if he would change this book. It is part satire, part morality tale about modern politics, but based on the current reality, the satire could have been much deeper. It is a enjoyable read and assuming that the history about Taft is accurate, informative as well. Worth the read. ( )