Review: Coolidge

Coolidge by Amity Shlaes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First off, as far as biographies go, this is, without doubt, the definitive one of Calvin Coolidge. The author did an excellent job compiling the information, collecting it, and telling us about his story. 

Having said that, this is hardly an exciting ride. It sort of seems like the story of a slight better-off-than-average fellow who is slightly smarter than average, and how his sense of duty leads him to politics and, pretty much by luck, to the white house. Once there he cuts spending more or less as much as humanly possible, while saying as little as possible. 

He is undoubtedly one of the most principled of the presidents, and more or less the polar opposite of Harding. 

All in all a good read, but nothing really riveting. 

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