Failures of the presidents: from the Whiskey Rebellion and War of 1812 to the Bay of Pigs and war in Iraq

Take a humbling journey through America's proud history with this engaging and informative look at the nation's most epic presidential blunders. Failures of the Presidents recounts twenty of the worst bad calls to come out of the executive office, ranging from the nation's birth to the start of the twenty-first century. Author Thomas Craughwell begins with George Washington, who tried to pay for the Revolutionary War with a tax on whiskey-a choice that sparked the newly formed country's first bloody rebellion. Centuries later, another George-the second President Bush-was convinced that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction. His invasion of the country resulted in a protracted, deadly, and costly war that gave a serious blow to American credibility around the world. Between these episodes, there were many other regrettable, embarrassing, or downright disastrous mistakes made by residents of the White House-the worst of which are explored in this book.