Presidential Courage by Michael Beschloss (nonfiction)

The full title of this nonfiction book is Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989. While the stories of presidential decisions were interesting, I did not think the book was written well from an artistic standpoint. The chapters seemed to have random page breaks, and there were so many names with each incident that only a history teacher could keep up with them. My favorite story, however, was Andrew Jackson, perhaps because I knew the least about him. I did not realize he was as feisty as he was nor that he was a role model for so many presidents after him. The story I liked the least was the one about JFK and civil rights. If Beschloss's account is true, then JKF was more of a politician than a human rights advocate. Beschloss's account features Bobby Kennedy as much more pro-human rights than JFK. Maybe it's easier to be the brother of the president than the president himself.