Greatest President for quite some time! Classic business man.
343699
He is DNC's, Obama's and Hillary's president, whether they like it or not. :'D

Here is to 7 more years of SJW tears! Cheers!
1652372
FDR is perenially in the great list. It's about time that his undeniably strong war leadership is tempered with his prolongation of the depression. There's plenty of evidence the New Deal, while salving the wounds of economic distress, did nothing to heal it, and only prolonged it. His Treasury Secretary said so!

Why are Warren Harding and US Grant always dumped on? Ok, they had a few scandals on their watch, but also tremendous positives about their administrations (Harding's phenomenal fiscal policy kicking off the roaring 20's, and Grant's efforts to repair the damage done by the disastrous Johnson).

And get Wilson out of the Near Great category. I'm not ready to lump him with the pre-Civil war stinkers, like Glenn Beck would, but his foreign policy was almost as naive as Jimmy Carter's and even more consequential. He helped set the stage for WWII and even the present middle east mess.

Andrew Jackson is overrated...lots of positives (westward expansion, voter enfranchisment), lots of negatives (Indian fighter, killed the economy with the bank). He should be in the middle somewhere, perhaps upper above average. Eisenhower was pretty good, but just below Reagan?? Put him in the above average group and move Reagan (and Truman) to the top of near great. Yes, just ahead of Teddy Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson.

John Adams should be in the near great group, why is everyone hard on him? Watch the HBO special and read the David McCullough bio. He was nearly as consequential as Thomas Jefferson.

LBJ should be below average, far below JFK, who is above average. One screwed up the economy and the war he ran, the other kicked off 1960s economic boom and recovered nicely from the Bay of Pigs with the Cuban missile crisis. JFK wasn't perfect, he started the public sector unionization that is killing us today. But on balance much better than his veep.

In general, there is far too much weight put on scandals, which are really of interest to contemporaries, and too little to the long run implications of sound or sordid foreign, domestic, and especially economic policy. Since I'd weight economic policy, Harding would move into the above average, and Coolidge into the near great categories. I'd even move Bill Clinton to the bottom of above average, or maybe upper average due to economic management.

My final list:
Great
1. George Washington
2. Abraham Lincoln
Near Great
3. Harry Truman
4. Ronald Reagan
5. Thomas Jefferson
6. FDR
7. John Adams
8. James Polk
9. Calvin Coolidge
10. Theodore Roosevelt
Above Average
11. Andrew Jackson
12. Dwight Eisenhower
13. James Madison
14. JFK
15. James Monroe
16. Warren Harding
17. William McKinley
18. Grover Cleveland
Average
19. US Grant
20. George HW Bush
21. Bill Clinton
22. George W Bush
23. John Q Adams
24. Gerald Ford
25. Rutherford Hayes
26. Chester Arthur
Below Average
27. LBJ
28. Woodrow Wilson
29. Benjamin Harrison
30. Martin Van Buren
31. Zachary Taylor
32. Jimmy Carter
33. Herbert Hoover
34. John Tyler
35. Millard Fillmore
Failure
36. Franklin Pierce
37. Andrew Johnson
38. James Buchanan
39. Richard Nixon
2833694
Thoroughly enjoyable history showing the evolution of both BH and Warren Buffett over 50 years. Buffett seems like a decent, humble person with a mountain of business and investment wisdom. It can get a bit repetitive but no harm in skimming those bits.
1673240
Pleased to own this book.  While it contains only notes and excerpts of a great President, it gives a view of the man and his personality.  There is humor and thought I provoking memos alike.
110893
Excellent historical collection containing the wills of those U.S. Presidents who died leaving a will.  Only Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Grant, and Garfield did not.  The book is somewhat dated now, because the last President to be included in Lyndon Johnson.  Since then, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan have died.  The wills give fascinating insights into the attitudes of the Presidents.
1704313
overall this was informative about all that George H had accomplished. the beginning was a concern as it had a little too much of 43 but then it was devoted to George H.  what a president goes through while in office to get into the office. worthwhile read. George H was quite a persoo
4590004
Great story of a great man, who rose to the occasion. I have a lot of respect for him now.
688708
He is a great addition to our 100 year old mountain house . Very old and vintage looking . There is a nice mantel piece over the fire place. I found an old frame and Mr. Lincoln fit perfect !!
IMO-- He was the greatest president our country ever had . Now I am on the hunt to see if I can find the same size picture of Mary Todd - so Abe won't be lonely up on the mantle.
2797350
Ronald Reagan was one of our greatest presidents! He led our country out of a bad recession, and helped to end the cold war. The road to the white house was not an easy one for Ronald Reagan. He faced a tough primary, and was running neck and neck with Carter in the general election until things changed dramatically at the very end. I very much enjoyed this in depth look at the 1980 presidential campaign!
2116572
This is a great book about a man from modest means becoming a great President.  Calvin Coolidge was obsessed with cutting The Federal Budget, Lower Taxes, "Paying Off" The National Debt and reducing the size of The Federal Government.  He was the first President to realize you can increase revenues into The Federal Government by lowering taxes. He would often veto popular bills that he felt were not financially sound. He did not care about popular opinion, but he wanted to do what was right for the economy of our nation.  I wish today's Republicans and Democrats were more like Calvin Coolidge.  This is a history lesson on how one person can fight against Statism in our Nation. Sadly, once out of office, Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt conspired to undo all of the hard work and accomplishments of Coolidge and his administration.
1406970
A great read and insight into one of our more mercurial Presidents. He changed more of the world than many and is less celebrated for it than he should be.
2284698
Today he would be considered a multi media man. Two things must be mentioned about this book:1) as a biography is simply superb. 2) the man, economist per se , one of the greatest in history, is amazing and on top, deomonized by many...who prefer to see evolution, ordered and slow. AOH wanted fast!
4390852
Theodore Roosevelt is my favorite president.  I saw this on PBS and knew I had to have it.  I will watch it many times.  Thank you Ken Burns!!!
1761332
My husband's grandfather worked for Teddy Roosevelt. Pres. Roosevelt was a GREAT guy!
2377283
Great historical account of some great businessmen who persevered and mad this country better and more prosperous.  Wonderful movie! I recommend it highly.
2996502
A great history piece that shows a person who grew as a result of circumstances he encountered to become one of the greatest presidents we have had. As usual Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard did a great job of bringing history alive.
261287
George W. Bush was one of the great presidents to me.  He loves our Country and did what he thought was best.  He prayed to Almighty God before his decisions were made.  I wish he was still president.