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Our Country's Presidents

· 3rd edition published 2009
· National Geographic Society
· $24.95
· 216 pages, hardcover
· More than 300 color photos and illustrations, index, bibliography
· ISBN 978-1-4263-0375-3

Summing it up—Jacket copy
Behind the scenes—election 2000
About the latest edition | On the stage
Awards and recognition | Reviews
Related links and resources

Buy at Amazon.com





Summing it up—Jacket copy

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."


It's a short oath of office for a very big job: President of the United States. Forty-three people have taken up the responsibilities of the Presidency as the nation has grown from the birth of the republic into a modern superpower. They've faithfully executed the duties of President—signed treaties, addressed Congress, and appointed government officials. But their impact goes far beyond the bounds of their Constitutional job description. Each President has left his mark on the history of the United States and on the lives of the American people.


Our Country's Presidents is packed with information about America's leaders. Find out why George Washington gave up his life as a Virginia planter to lead a nation, and why John Tyler was nicknamed "His Accidency." Walk with the Presidents through wars, depressions, civil rights movements, the race for space, and terrorist attacks. Romp with the Garfield kids in a White House pillow fight and mourn with the nation over John F. Kennedy's assassination. Carefully researched text and historic images combine to make this volume the definitive family reference guide to the fascinating lives of the Presidents of the United States.


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Behind the scenes—election 2000

I wrote the original edition of Our Country's Presidents during the election year of 2000. It was a perfect time to study U.S. Presidents, elections from years past, and American history. This book was a collaborative project with the National Geographic Society. As hard as I worked on the text, others worked just as hard finding the photos, designing the fit of text and images, and editing everything into a well-timed, inviting book.


None of us expected our book about history to be caught up in history, but that's exactly what happened thanks to the events of Election 2000. When we went to bed the night of Election Day, all of us planned to wake up and put the finishing touches on a book that featured the newest U.S. President. We had parallel pages about President Al Gore and about President George W. Bush for everything from the front cover to the index, from an introduction by the newest President to an introductory essay about him. The rest of our book, from George Washington to Bill Clinton, was ready and waiting to be printed.


So much for best-laid plans. Instead we woke up to five weeks of uncertainty, revision, substitution (it's Gore, no, it's Bush, no Gore. . .), and delay. Instead of recording history, we were living through it. What a thrill—and a challenge. I followed news accounts, trying to keep my facts and rewrites up-to-date. Our photo editor found new images about the controversial election that replaced less timely ones. Our designer and my editor patiently substituted one change after another after another into the layouts. Staff members at National Geographic juggled revised printing schedules, creating "what if" dates that would work if only the election results would become final.


Those "what ifs" came to pass after the Supreme Court ended vote counting on December 12, 2000, and Al Gore conceded the race. We polished up our final changes in time for a late-December print run that actually put Our Country's Presidents into the bookstores the same week that George W. Bush took the oath of office to become our nation's 43rd President.



Here's the final version of our "Election 2000" spread. These two pages were written and revised more than a dozen times in an effort to keep up with changing events.


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About the latest edition

During 2008 I collaborated for the second time with the National Geographic Society on revising Our Country's Presidents in light of an upcoming election. As we had done in 2004, we developed parallel editions reflecting the two possible election outcomes: President John McCain or President Barack Obama. I wrote up profiles of each candidate as if he had become President, and we developed dual sets of pages for each candidate's edition of the book—from the title page, to the table of contents, to the index. By Election Day we had two completed versions of the book, and we turned to the voters to see which one we would send to press.



Over the years I've visited many historical sites
and museums connected to our country's Presidents, including the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois
(above, in 2006).


Unlike the election of 2000—or even 2004 when the outcome wasn't settled until the day after votes had been cast—there was no uncertainty about the victor of the 2008 race. By Tuesday night we knew we needed to add last-minute updates to our Obama edition, and within days of the election our finished book had been released to the printer for publication.


The third edition of Our Country's Presidents is 24 pages longer than the original book that was published in 2001. Some of those new pages were required to provide additional information about President George W. Bush (who started out with two pages of material at first but now has four pages allocated for his Presidency) and about President Barack Obama. But we've added many additional thematic spreads to the book, too, including ones about White House traditions, the Vice Presidents, presidential landmarks, the Presidents and the Supreme Court, Presidents at war, the role of pollsters and polling in the political process, presidential security, and what Presidents do after retiring from office.



We added eight pages of new material to the latest edition of Our Country's Presidents, including this spread about White House traditions.


Of course there are always facts that need to be updated, too—when a former President dies, for example—so the story of our country's Presidents remains an ever-changing work in process. I hope you will enjoy this latest edition of history and will stay-tuned as we watch current events unfold toward the making of yet another edition of Our Country's Presidents.


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On the stage

Author program. Follow this link to find out about an author program related to this book. The program is called "Nothing but the Facts: A Not-so-trivial Look at Our Country's Presidents and First Ladies."

Click other links to read audience feedback about programs and learn how to arrange for Author Visits.



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Awards and recognition

2006 Books for the Teen Age
New York Public Library

2002 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People
Joint selection by the National Council for Social Studies and the Children's Book Council

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Reviews

"This attractive volume, originally published in 2001, has been revised and expanded to include the 2004 election. . . .The short profiles provide essential information for report writers.
. . .The beautiful illustrations. . .current information, and user-friendly layout make this a solid addition for most libraries."

School Library Journal
April 1, 2005

"Bausum's new edition is extensively updated. . . .Lavish use of period and modern illustrations, quotes, solid research, and the kind of offbeat facts so dear to readers young and older are included. . . .Bausum gives a real sense of the person behind the office in every case. . . .A valuable resource."
Booklist
May 15, 2005

"This is a great book, one filled with excellent information and large amounts of trivia and "I didn't know that" facts. Definitely pick it up."
—www.SocialStudiesforKids.com

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Related links and resources

"The American Presidency—A Glorious Burden"

Smithsonian National Museum of American History online exhibition

The American Presidency Project

Library of Congress
American Memory Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies

National Archives
Presidential Libraries

Our Country's First Ladies by Ann Bausum

Presidential Inaugurations

Presidential Speeches

White House

White House Historical Association

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