Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Coolidge
by Amity Shlaes
In my last review of a presidential biography, I asked, "Where have all the meaty biographies gone?" I was quite surprised to find one waiting for me when I tackled the next president on my list. Ms. Shlaes has written a nice 456 pager, covering the life of Calvin Coolidge. Since it fit in with my purpose for reading such biographies, I have to say she did a great job. She recounts Coolidge's life, showing where he and his family fit in American history and how events of the day affected his life. There's an economic flavor to the book, especially as President Coolidge attains office and has to deal with the unprecedented debt left by World War I. Economics are one of those topics that threaten to cause my eyes to glaze over, but even I found it a bit interesting, knowing that the economy of the 1920s was heading towards Black Tuesday on October 24, 1929. Surprisingly enough, Coolidge was expecting that, though I don't think he envisioned the Depression that followed. Anyway, this sympathetic biography is well worth checking out. I'm not sure I would ever have voted for Coolidge, I did come away with a respect for him.
LibraryThing link
In my last review of a presidential biography, I asked, "Where have all the meaty biographies gone?" I was quite surprised to find one waiting for me when I tackled the next president on my list. Ms. Shlaes has written a nice 456 pager, covering the life of Calvin Coolidge. Since it fit in with my purpose for reading such biographies, I have to say she did a great job. She recounts Coolidge's life, showing where he and his family fit in American history and how events of the day affected his life. There's an economic flavor to the book, especially as President Coolidge attains office and has to deal with the unprecedented debt left by World War I. Economics are one of those topics that threaten to cause my eyes to glaze over, but even I found it a bit interesting, knowing that the economy of the 1920s was heading towards Black Tuesday on October 24, 1929. Surprisingly enough, Coolidge was expecting that, though I don't think he envisioned the Depression that followed. Anyway, this sympathetic biography is well worth checking out. I'm not sure I would ever have voted for Coolidge, I did come away with a respect for him.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, PresidentialBioReadingList
// posted by John @ 3:50 PM 
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