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readermeginco's review against another edition
4.0
Arthur was a great "#2", but it's doubtful that he ever really aspired to be the top man in the White House. In fact, when he learned of Garfield's tragic shooting, his first reaction was to sob. And mind you, it's not that he was ever all that close to Garfield. I got the impression that in addition to his shock over the tragedy, he was jolted by the very real possibility that he would have to assume the office himself. Garfield & Arthur tolerated each other, sure, but Arthur was the President's method of soothing the stalwart faction within the Republican Party, most notably Chester Arthur's boss, Roscoe Conkling. So, once Arthur ascends to the highest office he's got some serious strikes against him. He was nobody's first choice, his boss (now his subordinate) Conkling is jealous, and Arthur himself was secretly suffering from Bright's disease.
murph_the_serf's review against another edition
2.0
While I did enjoy learning more about Arthur's life, one I knew very little about previously due to his relative obscurity in American history, the book was a bit of a slog to get through. The author presents a lot of information in a very dry manner and there is very little narrative structure beyond a timeline-like series of "this then that then this then that."
I would have hoped for more of a story given that there wasn't an overabundance of material to draw from for Arthur's administration but this was very textbook-y and not overly exciting.
I would have hoped for more of a story given that there wasn't an overabundance of material to draw from for Arthur's administration but this was very textbook-y and not overly exciting.
jvan's review against another edition
2.0
I assumed, before I read this, that Chester A. Arthur was incredibly boring and did pretty much nothing as President.
It turns out, he was a party guy, but otherwise incredibly boring, and did pretty much nothing as President. Who knew?
It turns out, he was a party guy, but otherwise incredibly boring, and did pretty much nothing as President. Who knew?
poirotketchup's review against another edition
4.0
A admirable biography that makes the most of a subject that the author admits is one of the most boring, as far as presidents go. Arthur seems to genuinely not have wanted to be president.
uberbutter's review against another edition
3.0
Chester Alan Arthur by Zachary Karabell
★★★
President Chester Alan Arthur is one of those presidents that when mentioned in general public gets a “Who? He was a president?” Yeah, so they can’t all do great, memorable things. Poor guy. And when seeing how small this biography is, it doesn’t help his case – although it is mentioned in Editor’s Notes that this book is “compact for the busy reader, lucid enough for the student, and authoritative enough for the scholar.”
So who was this guy? Well, he took over for Garfield after his assassination. Arthur didn’t want to be president and no one expected much of him. He did some good stuff in his time, mostly went with the flow, and miraculously stayed out of trouble and allegation. He was an interesting president in his own right, just a sadly forgotten one. I enjoyed this book and I think it gave a good, broad overview of this president and his life. However, I still would have liked further details – it just seemed to lack so much. So much like the president, neither good nor bad, I give this book a similar judgment – putting it right down the middle in my rating.
★★★
President Chester Alan Arthur is one of those presidents that when mentioned in general public gets a “Who? He was a president?” Yeah, so they can’t all do great, memorable things. Poor guy. And when seeing how small this biography is, it doesn’t help his case – although it is mentioned in Editor’s Notes that this book is “compact for the busy reader, lucid enough for the student, and authoritative enough for the scholar.”
So who was this guy? Well, he took over for Garfield after his assassination. Arthur didn’t want to be president and no one expected much of him. He did some good stuff in his time, mostly went with the flow, and miraculously stayed out of trouble and allegation. He was an interesting president in his own right, just a sadly forgotten one. I enjoyed this book and I think it gave a good, broad overview of this president and his life. However, I still would have liked further details – it just seemed to lack so much. So much like the president, neither good nor bad, I give this book a similar judgment – putting it right down the middle in my rating.
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