by Mike Purdy | Jan 7, 2018 | Assassinations, Books, Campaigns, Chester Arthur, Elections, Franklin Roosevelt, George Washington, Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter, John Adams, John F. Kennedy, Presidential Sites, Richard Nixon, Thomas Jefferson
There was definitely not enough time in 2017 to read. So many books, so little time! One of my New Year’s resolutions is to read more books. The following is a list of the books about the presidents that I read in 2017 (the titles below are linked to Amazon or...
by Mike Purdy | Nov 26, 2017 | Books, Chester Arthur, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Post Presidencies, Uncategorized
There are actually two winners to announce. Bush Beats Ford as Oldest President: First, on November 25, 2017, George H.W. Bush nabbed the record from Gerald R. Ford as the oldest former president. As of November 25, Bush was 93 years, 166 days old. Ford died when he...
by Mike Purdy | Nov 13, 2017 | Assassinations, Books, Chester Arthur, Presidential Greatness
Chester A. Arthur is not one of our better known presidents. Our 21st president served just less than three and a half years, having ascended to the presidency upon the assassination of James A. Garfield. He was unsuccessful in winning the Republican nomination for...
by Mike Purdy | Jun 4, 2017 | Abraham Lincoln, Assassinations, Books, Chester Arthur, Deaths, George Washington, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Martin Van Buren, Post Presidencies, Presidential Sites, Thomas Jefferson, Warren Harding
It’s been 100 years since John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born. It’s been more than a half century since he was assassinated after serving as president for less than three years. High Marks: And yet Kennedy is consistently ranked among our greatest...
by Mike Purdy | Oct 4, 2016 | Campaigns, Chester Arthur, Elections, Electoral College, James Garfield, John Adams, John F. Kennedy, Millard Fillmore, Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt, Vice-Presidents, William Henry Harrison, William McKinley
On September 27, 2016, I had a free-ranging 30 minute interview on Chicago-based WCGO radio (1590) on the presidents and vice-presidents, with comments about the tone of the current 2016 presidential campaign, including what president I thought would beat either...
by Mike Purdy | Jul 13, 2016 | Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Assassinations, Campaigns, Chester Arthur, Deaths, Elections, Franklin Roosevelt, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Harry Truman, James Garfield, John Adams, Millard Fillmore, Richard Nixon, Theodore Roosevelt, Vice-Presidents, William Henry Harrison, William McKinley, Woodrow Wilson, Zachary Taylor
“My country,” a frustrated John Adams once wrote about the vice presidency, “has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.” He has not been alone throughout our...