Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents: Strange Stories and Shocking Trivia from Inside the White House

By Cormac O'Brien

The classic compendium of weird, quirky, and politically incorrect presidential trivia is back—now with a chapter about the 45th American president, Donald J. Trump

This updated and redesigned edition of Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents features outrageous and uncensored profiles of our commanders in chief—complete with hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downright wacko facts. You’ll discover that:

• Teddy Roosevelt was blinded in a White House boxing match
• John Quincy Adams loved to skinny-dip in the Potomac River
• Gerald Ford once worked as a Cosmopolitan magazine cover model
• Warren G. Harding gambled with White House china when he ran low on cash
• Jimmy Carter reported a UFO sighting in Georgia

With chapters on everyone from George Washington to Donald Trump, Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents tackles all the tough questions that other history books are afraid to ask: Which president claimed that God struck down Abraham Lincoln on purpose? How many of these folks were cheating on their spouses? And are there really secret tunnels underneath the White House? American history was never this much fun in school!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Aug 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781594744792

Reviews for Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents

[asolomon_31 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hooray for this book! It is so much fun as a history major to read. It is the childhood book I always wanted, but was not ready for.

[wittyreaderli · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is a fascinating read that gives facts about all of the presidents of the US. But not just your average "they did this and that" facts. More like weird quirks and flaws, scandals, and other interesting tidbits. Did you know that James Tyler had 14 children with two wives? Or that Taft was so overweight that he often got stuck in the tub? This book is a quick, fun and interesting read. I recommend it!

[kiki5211 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As a U.S History teacher, this book makes a great way to "hook" students in when teaching about all the Presidents. Some of the information is well know, but each has something you may not know, that the history books leave out. Very humorous stories will get your attention about our country's leaders.

[madamejeanie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Now, this is the kind of book I really enjoy reading. Full offascinating obscure facts and written in brief paragraph form so thatyou can pick it up, read a little bit, then lay it down without havingto worry about "catching up" again when you come back to it. It coversevery President from Washington to Bush II, revealing little-knowntidbits and facts I never knew before. It's heavily illustrated withfull page caricatures of each president, detailed stats and factoids,plus some really fascinating insight into what made each one of themtruly tick.I enjoyed it. 5

[annbury_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this book because I wanted a quick guide to the lives and personalities of the lesser known presidents, and that's exactly what it provides -- useful and very short biographical sketches of ALL the presidents. It doesn't provide much in the way of big secrets, except for the even worse than one expected philandering of some recent occupants of the office; for many presidents, "secret" lives simply equals personal lives. But that's no problem, the book gave me what I wanted. It's interesting amusing, and a very quick and easy read. Look elsewhere for profundity.