Fantastic read. I learned something on almost every page. Reviews saying it’s a “cliff notes” version are ridiculous. The book would be longer than a Stephen King novel if all 45 President’s were covered in great detail. I got a very good handle on each President and I read it almost in one sitting. Only putting it down because I had to get some sleep! Highly recommended.

This is a ‘good read’, given what it is attempting to do. Each president receives approximately 10 pp. of text (without regard to how consequential each presidency was). In general we start with a vignette that catches the eye, then move on to some biographical material, some human interest material (the president’s favorite food, e.g.) and some summary material. Note that the summary material is seldom as impassioned and specific as BO’R is on his TV show. LBJ, for example, is treated far more gently than O’R treats him on his show. Biden and Trump are each given mini-essays by the co-authors, given the fact that it is too early for historical judgments. The book is informative, occasionally spicy and written for a general audience (with the footnoting of some material that will seem elementary to some readers, e.g. the notation that USSR refers to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). Some of the material is directly relevant to our current day, with, e.g., the democrats challenging the Hayes election and seeking to block the counting of electoral votes (p. 155). The book is long on facts and shorter on feelings. I did not detect any obvious errors, except for the claim that Nixon kept the Chateau Lafite Rothschild champagne for his own consumption. Lafite’s great wine is its claret. Perhaps the reference is to Barons de Rothschild champagne? (I have read elsewhere that Nixon’s favorite wine was Margaux claret.) There is a good bit of information on the first ladies and some overarching subjects, e.g., the general state of the White House (its refurbishment, etc). In general this is an interesting book that will hold the reader’s attention and provide some hitherto overlooked or unknown information.

If you want history brought to life, this book is for you. So readable, so interesting, so factual. It belongs in every classroom. Especially relevant with 2024 election coming up. Seriously, recommend for all history teachers - use this book and your students won't fall asleep or skip.

Bill O’Reilly should be ashamed to put his name on this book that not only has glaring errors ( see attached picture), but does not live up to the promise of insight into each president and their administration. At best it is a cursory recap of each president’s major accomplishments. So light on detail, I doubt someone not well schooled in American history ( today’s kids) will be able to follow the chronological events mentioned. If you want to know more about any, or all, of the presidents there are many better offerings. As a Bill O’Reilly fan I’m very disappointed in this effort. Save your money. Confronting will be available for a buck from plenty of used book sellers very soon.

Ordered it as soon as possible. Received it on 9/10. Can't put the book down. Since history is slowly being eliminated by the current generation, this book is a must read for all generations if you are interested in our presidential history. Very well laid out, interesting and gives such a great understanding of the victories, failures, obstacles and habits of each president

This book has a ton of history, about these people, the bad and good. Lots of personal stuff, yeah FDR wife was a switch hitter. But, all these men mostly were just average, with the same problems we have today, and the animosity was as bad then as now. But great read on history, recommended.

I am a presidential historian. In fact, I am the Founder of the Society of Presidential Historians in Academia (SOPHIA). sophiascholars.com Many historians might thumb their nose at this book, deeming it not "scholarly," but I don’t share that view. Confronting the Presidents is historically accurate, eminently engaging, refreshingly objective, and highly entertaining. Far too many scholarly history books are written to preserve the historical record, and that’s important. But consequently, they contain painstakingly dry and often excruciatingly boring detail. But this book is chock full of information that's easy to digest, so the reader's eyes can easily glide from page to page. Bill O'Reilly (assisted by Martin Dugard) devotes a chapter to each president, from Washington to Obama, understandably omitting Trump and Biden, who at the time of writing were running for president again; O'Reilly focuses only on presidents who were done. O'Reilly engages the reader in dramatic fashion with chapter-openers such as: "George Washington is mad as his mother" (p. 3, describing a longstanding feud between the two), "The Executive Mansion [now the White House] is ablaze" (p. 33, when the British invaded and set fire to Washington, DC during the War of 1812), "Franklin Pierce needs a drink" (p. 108, explaining that president's propensity to consume large amounts of alcohol), and "The President of the United States is stuck" (p. 215, referring to William Howard Taft's large 350-pound body being stuck in the tub during his baths). I knew all of those things ahead of time, as well as most of the numerous other fascinating facts O'Reilly describes, because presidential history is my field. But I learned some new interesting tidbits too, such as: A few years before becoming president and leader of the Confederate Army, respectively, Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee worked together to coordinate incoming President Zachary Taylor's inauguration festivities (p. 98), that Taylor and his running mate Millard Fillmore never met face-to-face until after they won the election (p. 104), that Gerald and Betty Ford were the first president and first lady to sleep in the same bedroom in the White House (p. 333), and that Barack Obama is fluent in Indonesian (p. 383). The book is remarkably objective until the Afterword, when O'Reilly and Dugard show their hand and tell us what they think of Trump and Biden, and we finally learn that Dugard, who's been collaborating with O'Reilly on books for years and years but has mostly remained in the shadows, in contrast to the conservative-minded (but registered independent) O'Reilly, is a liberal! That in my mind adds gravitas to their work, as they can assess matters from varying perspectives. The only disappointment I have with a book this rich in presidential anecdotes is that there aren't any cited sources. Oh, it's not that I doubt the information's veracity (like I said, I already knew most of it and have no doubt to believe that any of it is inaccurate); it's just that footnotes/endnotes are helpful to those interested in further reading. What may seem like frivolous presidential trivia to some is in my view what makes this book so valuable: that George Washington didn't attend his mother's funeral (though, in fairness, it's been said that the news didn't get to him in time) and never had a headstone put on her grave (no excuses for that one). It's important because we tend to vilify our modern-day presidents, yet we all but declare holy those on Mount Rushmore. But here we learn how the "Father of our Country" treated his mother's memory, and hopefully it reminds us that history has a tendency to wash away or galvanize a president's image, and that all of the presidents - every single one of them - had good points and bad points. This is great read in language simple enough for novices but informative enough even for those of us who've made presidential history a life's work.