38- Gerald R Ford

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38- Gerald R Ford

1cyderry
Editado: Maio 10, 2010, 11:56 pm

Write it when I'm gone
corgiiman
Gerald Ford
lindapanzo
Bill_Masom




Except in formal signature, he signs his name Jerry Ford.
Gerald Ford had two attempts on his life in California during the month of September, 1975. Both attempts were by women.
Ford was once a male model.
He became Vice President and President without being elected to either office.
Ford had another swimming pool dug after he became president because Richard Nixon had had it filled in.
Ford was on the University of Michigan football team from 1931 to 1934. He was offered tryouts by both the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears.
In 1977 he had a hole-in-one at the Memphis Classic.
He is right-handed, but he writes with his left hand.
When Ford proposed to to his wife, he was wearing one brown & one black shoe
Ford was the first President to have been an Eagle Scout.
Ford was the head boxing coach and assistant football coach at Yale University.
Ford was one of the members of the Warren Commission appointed to study the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
He was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. after his biological father. He was renamed after his adoptive father, Gerald Rudolph Ford, Sr.

2corgiiman
Editado: Jan 19, 2009, 8:29 pm

President #3 for me. I just finished Write It When I'm Gone by Thomas DeFrank. It is a book of private conversations between DeFrank and President Ford. I found it very repetitive and instead of a 275 pg book it could have been a 40 to 50 pg book. But read with A Time to Heal by Ford, it was very enlightening.

3lindapanzo
Jan 22, 2009, 12:17 am

I've read Douglas Brinkley's book, Gerald Ford. This is one of those fairly skimpy overviews in the American Presidents series. Good if you want to just read about the basics.

In Ford's case, someday (maybe after I read a book about each president), I will go back and read a more full-scale biography.

4gmillar
Maio 5, 2010, 5:38 pm

I read the Douglas Brinkley book. It is one of the Times Books series called "The American Presidents", general editor Arthur M. Schlesinger. This is a very clear and honest short appreciation of an important American life.

5Bill_Masom
Maio 7, 2010, 11:43 pm

Just got done with Gerald R. Ford by Douglas Brinkley.

Yes it is short, 160 pages. I found it informative and an easy read. I would like to read Ford's autobiography, "A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald R. Ford". I will have to keep my eyes peeled for that one.

Bill Masom

6drneutron
Mar 24, 2014, 3:40 pm

Finished Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life by James Cannon. Frankly, I didn't care much for it. Cannon thinks so highly of Ford that I suspect his vision isn't clear, and the way he portrays Ford doesn't jibe with other books I've read. Oh, and this isn't a biography - the bulk is on his short presidency.

7swimmergirl1
Fev 4, 2018, 12:18 pm

Gerald Ford by Douglas Brinkley.

A short read that was less than fulfilling. Much left out, I have a more in depth biography I want to read later.

8Vic33
Out 7, 2018, 8:50 am

I too read Gerald R. Ford by Douglas Brinkley. Seems like he was the right man at the right time. An overall nice guy. I wish there were some better biographies out there on him.

9Hamburgerclan
Jul 18, 2021, 11:56 pm

Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life
by James Cannon

This one is a very positive biography, written by a former member of the Ford administration. The common perception of Gerald Ford is that he was one of the more mediocre politicians--he's probably more known for tripping down the stairs than for he successful career in the House of Representatives. But while Mr. Cannon does not ignore Ford's flaws and mistakes, he paints a picture of an honest, hard working, and highly capable man.

While the book covers Ford's life before and after his presidency, it does so relatively quickly. The focus is on Gerald Ford as president. It tells of an era of political life of the United States when many politicians, including Ford, put the well being of the country before their own agendas. (And before you bring up the pardon of Richard Nixon, the book covers Ford's rationale for that in depth.) Overall, I have to say it was an interesting book. And the allusions Mr. Cannon made about the subsequent political scene, combined with the lack of extensive details post 1977, made me want to go out and find the next biography.