Don't Know Much About The Presidents

Back when the United States of America was born, the patriots who rebelled against England got rid of a king named George. America's first president was also named George (Washington, of course!). Then, in the year 2000, America started a new century by electing another president named George (Bush). His father was also president, and he was also named George Bush. But sorry - having the name George won't really help you become president.

How do you become president, and what does a president do? Is being president hard work? (The real answer is that some presidents work harder than others.) Are all the presidents good? Do the president's kids have to be careful not to mess up the White House?

Don't Know Much About¬ the Presidents tells the story of all forty-three of America's commanders in chief and their families. But this book is not just filled with dry dates and old names. It is loaded with questions and answers about extraordinary men and women, and the lives they led, that remind us that history is about real people doing real things. When you remember that, learning about our past becomes a lot more fun. By George!

When President Hoover and his wife, Lou, didn't want to be overheard, they spoke to each other in Chinese!

FDR was related, by blood or marriage, to eleven other presidents.

President Truman described that atom bomb as "the most terrible bomb in the history of the world."

President Nixon was the first and only person to resign his job as US president.

Jimmy Carter held "family councils" in which his wife and four children could give the president their thoughts on all kinds of issues.