Worst. President. Ever.

Strauss has written a very good book about a very, very bad president--James Buchanan.

Buchanan's presidency is (for good reasons) largely forgotten. This is, in part, because he was incompetent, but he also preceded the Greatest. President. Ever, whose vision for the United States fulfilled the destiny set out in the Declaration of Independence and affirmed in that president's own "Gettysburg Address."

Lincoln-centered readers of American history fail to recognize that South Carolina--then Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas--seceded from the United States in the five months between Lincoln's election and the beginning of his term. In other words, Buchanan had his hand on the tiller of the ship of state during these crucial months when it foundered! His convoluted reason for doing nothing--that states did not have the right to secede but the president was constitutionally powerless to stop them--is well explained by Strauss.

Other forgotten missteps of the Buchanan presidency are also explained--an aborted Pig War with Britain over a dinky island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, efforts to purchase Cuba to add to the slave states, and a panic in 1857 do Buchanan few favors. Ultimately the bachelor president's lasting contribution to Washington was the energy of his "first lady," his niece, Harriet Lane, who was a player in the DC and Baltimore social scene for the rest of the century.

Strauss writes in an engaging manner. A native Pennsylvanian, he slips in personal anecdotes about ties between the Keystone State and the characters in his book (we learn, for example, that William Henry Harrison is the only president to have attended UPenn, even if it was for a few weeks of medical school). Strauss's style makes his discussion of Buchanan's accomplishments, political enemies (Andrew Jackson, Stephen Douglas) and prevarications very readable.

Strauss also discusses other contenders for Worst. President. Ever, making a case that Harding, Pierce, Hoover and Bush were nowhere near the bottom established by Buchanan. He also explores rumors about the homosexuality of the 15th President, but he doesn't seem to put much stock in them.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me preview this book. It deserves a broad audience. It brings to life a key period in American history--the interregnum between Jackson and Lincoln--that many history books leave out.

An educational, yet extremely entertaining, look at how we rate the presidents. Despite an admirable career as a Representative, Senator, Ambassador and Cabinet Secretary, James Buchanan is consistently ranked as our worst president and his administration is charged with causing the Civil War to take place. This book will teach you about him, and some of the other lesser known Presidents in a charming, chatty way that will entertain you as well as educate you.

I really enjoyed this treatment of a relatively not so historically likeable subject. The author does a wonderful job in his summations of the important issues and events that shaped Buchanan and the antebellum era. His digressions on the ratings of the presidents I found lightened the discussion just the right amount. As a fellow child hood lover of Joseph Nathan Kane's Facts About the Presidents it brought back warm memories of the similar enjoyment I had in reading my dog eared copy over and over.

"What bet did you lose?"

This is the question Strauss was asked by a librarian during the course of his research into President James Buchanan's life. When Strauss later asked how often anyone asked to look at these Buchanan papers? The answer was "Not very". Which should give you an indication of how little regard Buchanan is given among the pantheon of former POTUS's.

Seriously, do you even know the time period when the guy was president?

Without looking it up on Wikipedia?

Yeah, me neither before this book. So I was extremely interested when I saw it on Netgalley, especially when I realized he was preceded by my boy, Franklin Pierce. This book is very well written, and clearly very well researched. The author talks about his love of presidential history, and it comes through in the details added throughout. This isn't just a biography, as the title suggests. It's also about the "POTUS Rating Game", and how historians have come to the general conclusion that James Buchanan may very well be the Worst. President. Ever. Strauss goes into quite a bit of detail on other presidents to explain why this is, and I really enjoyed reading that synopsis.

I will say that the writing meanders at places. Generally the chapters begin with the history of Buchanan and at some point they shift over into the authors experiences and opinions, or his thoughts on the POTUS ratings, etc. This resulted in several bits of repeated information that made me double take to make sure I hadn't accidentally flipped back a few pages. It was just a little annoying to me personally. I would have preferred to read all of the history together, then read all of the authors asides together.

I think it's obvious by now, but I really REALLY liked this book. I would highly recommend it to everyone, especially those who love US Presidential history. It was so interesting to read a POTUS biography that wasn't trying to paint its subject in glowing terms, but being very honest about their missteps and foibles.

I'll leave you with this list that displays a slice of the terribad things that happened during Buchanan's presidency, not all of which were his fault.

- The Dred Scott SCOTUS decision (He was involved in this decision and thought it would halt the hostilities. I. Can't. Even.)
- Bleeding Kansas (Resulting from the Kansas-Nebraska act which was actually Pierce's baby, but the violence happened on Buchanan's watch)
- The Panic of 1957 (A recession the year he came into office, no less)
- The Mormon Wars (Or the Utah War, but either way this was a colossal blunder of his)
- Fort Sumpter (I think we all know about this one)
- South Carolina Secession (Which happened just as Buchanan was leaving office and Lincoln was coming in.)

With the upcoming presidential election, it may seem that whoever is elected is going to go down in history as the Worst President Ever, and while only time would tell if that's true, there is no denying there already was a Worst President, and his name was James Buchanan. The predecessor of Lincoln (one of the greatest presidents of all time, according to history), not very much is known about the president, being told as a Cliffnotes version before the big event of Lincoln's presidency, or else faded into obscurity until this book came out. Told in a very sardonic manner, the trials and tribulations of James Buchanan is shown in all of its cringe-inducing glory: how he influenced the Dredd Scott decision, threw the country into a tremondous recession, and most importantly, how he caused the Civil War through his waffling attitudes on running the fracturing country, and those are just the HIGHLIGHTS. What I liked about the book was how it was paced in a way where you can learn new information in a way that was conversational instead of a list of chronological facts in a somewhat arching feel like other biographies. I never came to a point where I became bored, and was always eager to learn about how Buchanan had caused yet another gaff in his presidency. However, much like a conversation, there were parts that drifted off into an unrelated topic and stayed there awhile before bouncing back to the original topic; There was one instance where it jumped midway through the chapter from talking about Buchanan's start in politics to discussing visiting the home of Zachary Taylor, which, while interesting, was extremely jarring and felt completely out of left field, before bouncing back to Buchanan's start in presidency as if nothing happened, for example. While this keeps a conversation going and interesting, in a book it felt extremely odd and disrupted the overall flow every time it happened (which seemed to be at least once a chapter). I understand the author was trying to give some relevance to Buchanan in the present day as well as build up the world around Buchanan's time, but while some of the distractions worked extremely well, many did not and it just didn't work for me. However, with the exception of that, I would definitely recommend the book to a history buff who loves learning about a president who really isn't well known and seems to never do anything right. Or that one family member who keeps talking about how one of the candidates would ruin the world, that could be fun too. Either way, it's the perfect book just in time for election season.

Worst. President. Ever. is the perfect biography aimed at today's readers. It takes a subject that you'd think is boring (James Buchanan? I had to look up how to spell that) and makes it refreshing and relevant. It turns out that Buchanan was responsible -- or to blame -- for many of the events leading to the Civil War and even laws still around today. Written with humor and just a touch of snark, Worst. President. Ever is approachable by both the presidential buffs and the historically-challenged.

At a time when Americans are struggling with their choices for the next President of the United States, it only makes sense to take a look back into history and remember those past leaders who haven’t necessarily wrapped themselves in glory.

Robert Strauss takes us all the way to the back of the POTUS line with “Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents” (Lyons Press, $26.95). It’s a clever, conversational look at the life and times of James Buchanan, generally considered to be the worst chief executive this country has ever had.

I’ll be honest – my history knowledge isn’t what it should be. I’ve got enough to pull the occasional bar trivia-friendly factoid out of the ether, but not much more than that.

And so I went into this book not knowing much about James Buchanan other than his aforementioned consensus selection as the last of the least. If you gave me a minute, I could probably have worked out when his term was (March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861) because I likely would have remembered that he was succeeded by Abraham Lincoln. I knew he was the only lifelong bachelor among the presidents and subject to considerable speculation with regards to his sexuality.

That’s really about it. I knew nothing about his affiliations or about his life; nothing about his work as a public servant either before or during his presidency. For the most part, he was just a name and a handful of factoids – nothing more.

And it’s not like there are a lot of people clamoring for more info. Strauss himself discovers that as he visits Buchanan’s neglected former estate or learns from a librarian just how infrequently Buchanan’s papers are requested. He’s a footnote, one that has been almost entirely submerged by the ever-rising tides of history.

But when you dig a little deeper, it soon becomes clear why this guy sits at or near the bottom of pretty much any presidential ranking metric. His style of leadership was to more or less sit on his hands while things happened around him, leading to massive misfires like the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Dred Scott Supreme Court Decision. Oh, and there was that whole thing where he basically invited secession, an invitation on which South Carolina took him up right before he left office – with plenty more to follow.

And yet on paper, he was perhaps one of the most qualified men ever to assume the office. He served in both the House and the Senate representing his native Pennsylvania. He had terms as minister to both Russia and the United Kingdom. And he served as Secretary of State in both Polk’s and Taylor’s cabinets. His primary path to continued upward movement? Don’t rock the boat – even when all decency and common sense demands it be rocked.

Biographers generally tend to be drawn to the great men in whatever their field of interest; presidential history is no different. The Washingtons and Jeffersons and Lincolns are the ones for whom the most ink is spilled; they are the titans of our country’s history. Buchanan is no titan – which might be why this book is so compelling.

Strauss combines a devotion to detail with a subtle sense of humor to relay Buchanan’s story in a way that entertains even as it informs. He bounces around a bit, leaping from Buchanan’s history to that of other presidents and even recounting some of his own experiences as a lover of history and an explorer of the weird world of forgotten presidents. There’s none of the pressure that comes with writing about greatness, none of the staid seriousness that informs the biographies of the more popular presidents. Buchanan’s lowly status in the hierarchy allows for a completely different brand of presidential narrative; there’s no need to fawn over or apologize for Buchanan.

Basically, Strauss has some fun with it – much to our benefit.

“Worst. President. Ever.” is smart and well-wrought, finding an eminently readable sweet spot between hagiography and hit piece. Buchanan had plenty of flaws – flaws that Strauss never shies away from pointing out – but he was also one of just a handful of men to serve in our country’s highest office; there’s a degree of respect inherent to that office of which Strauss never loses sight. Fans of biography and American history – particularly presidential history - will be delighted by this book, a great piece of work about a not-so-great man.

Yeah, maybe not

Worst. President. Ever. James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents by Robert Strauss (Rowman & Littlefield/Lyons Press, $26.95).

We once all thought we knew who the worst president ever was, but perhaps we were a bit hasty. Time will tell, and this week, that Texan is looking a little bit better than he did before.

But in the “bad president” rating game, Robert Strauss makes a convincing case in Worst. President. Ever. James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents that there are four presidents we hardly ever talk about—the titular Buchanan, Franklin Pierce, Warren G. Harding, and Herbert Hoover—who were far worse than any in current memory. His focus here is on the career of Buchanan, who set the stage for the Civil War while effectively passing off the blame, and his case is so convincing that it’s possible to feel a bit sorry for poor Buchanan.

At a time when a good proportion of us may be convinced that that there’s a new contender for the title of worst president ever, this book does offer a bit of historical perspective.

Lively review of Buchanan, and his overwhelming terribleness as a President, and his place in American history at a time when the States was wrestling with the problem of slavery. Did he mess up royally? YES. And Mr. Strauss does a great job of explaining just how he did and the repercussions thereof. Highly recommendable for historical nonfiction fans that enjoy a bit of humor with their facts.

Buchanan gets a bad rap from history, but this was still a good, fairly-written account with lots of information that is not generally known about the man.