This book is part of a larger collection of books that look at the lives of presidents. Presidents Who Dared examined three presidents that changed U.S society and cemented its place as a world power. The details that were given about each president were presents in an easy to read conversational tone. I think this tone clashed with the words on the page. Take Truman’s story for instance. The glanced over parts of his presidency that stood out such as his fight against fraud and his decision to drop the bomb. I think the idea of this book is good, but the execution is flawed. I would have liked to get more detailed information about each president’s choices. Truman dropping a bomb should have been a whole chapter since that was the most daring thing a president could have been tasked with on his first month of work. Wilson’s League of Nations, Roosevelts New Deal, and Truman Fair Deal were daring decisions that this book paid too little time to with regard to their legacies.
The author, Edward Lindop, missed a great opportunity to try these daring presidents together. The book doesn’t try to tie the narratives together. Mr. Lindop wrote a nice book that is well informed and pleasant to read. But, this book is dated and doesn’t have a lot features that would make these stories explode from the page. This is a boring book that included no pictures or illustrations to support its information. Its bare bones all around. A slim table of contents, introduction, and source notes are all this book provides for features. They are slim on style and information. This book presents 28 years of the most incredible period in our countries history seen through the lives of the men in charge. Too bad the view through the lens provides nothing worth seeing. Don’t read this book. If you have interest in this time period or these Presidents, pick up a biography or what one on TV instead. This books scope is too narrow to merit its place on a shelf. ( )