Eminent Lives: The Presidents Collection

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Ulysses S. Grant

By: James Atlas, Michael Korda, Paul Johnson, Christopher Hitchens

Narrated by: Sam Tsoutsouvas

Three great historians write compelling, relevent biographies of three of our most important and famous presidents in this collection of Eminent Lives

Michael Korda brings his acclaimed storytelling talents to the life of Ulysses S. Grant—a man who managed to end the Civil War on a note of grace, serve two terms as president, write one of the most successful military memoirs in American literature, and is today remembered as a brilliant general but a failed president.

Paul Johnson gives us his concise portrait of the great founding American, George Washington, in a brilliant, sharply etched portrait that is full of surprising insights. Washington is seen as one of the most important authors of the Constitution, in addition to his pivotal leadership of the Revolutionary War and a magisterial executive in the formative years of the new United States.

Christopher Hitchens delves into the biographical subject of Thomas Jefferson —Thomas Jefferson did not “invent” or “dream” America: he more or less designed and built it. The design and the building both outstripped, and fell short of, the “vision”. Hitchens proposes that we dwell within this architecture of the practical and the ideal, and we are not the only ones to notice the compromise.

George Washington ©2005 Paul Johnson; Thomas Jefferson ©2005 Christopher Hitchens; Ulysses S. Grant ©2004 Success Research Corporation; (P)2005 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

A little too short

It’s a little tough to distill the lives of such huge figures into small, 3-5 hour biographies. It gets the job done, although the brevity is a bit disappointing

Condensed and coherent, well written and well researched. Very pleasant read.

As a long time biography reader, I enjoyed this book very much.
It’s much shorter than standard biographies, and manages to capture the essence of the characters well.

Fun, informative, and uniquely refreshing.

A brief yet engaging introduction into the lives of three prominent Americans. Each piece is crafted thoughtfully with details and points of view which are often mistakenly thought to be of less importance by some contemporary historians. Generally, it is an enjoyable trip into history.

Succinct and entertaining

Very well written, read and delivered, though I could have done without the trumpets.

The subjects are objectively portrayed.

Good History: Lame Politics

The writing and narration are very good. The occasional transparent jabs at the Bush Administration are a bit strange for historical works, but, the writers are myopic journalists and not historians. It is still a good listen.