Due to harrowing situations in office, in war zones and even in a nuclear reactor, some U.S. presidents have narrowly escaped death. Michael P. Spradlin, author of the Spy Goddess and Medal of Honor series, recounts 11 of these brushes with untimely demise in Close Calls, a fascinating collection of historical narratives.
Through nonfiction that reads like thrilling adventure tales, Spradlin engages young readers in the lives of the nation's commanders-in-chief. With death threats and assassination plots brewing, president-elect Abraham Lincoln was protected by the Pinkerton National Detective Agency--and Kate Warne, the first female detective in the United States--on his train ride to Washington, D.C. A fortunate Theodore Roosevelt was saved by his penchant for long speeches: a 50-page manuscript in his coat pocket deflected an assassin's bullet, preventing it from hitting vital organs. The circumstances of these and nine other accounts uncover the terror, valor and sometimes even humor--as Reagan told his wife after being shot, "Honey, I forgot to duck!"--in the experiences of U.S. presidents who were threatened with ghastly, premature death.
Spradlin supplements the biographical reports with sidebars explaining people or things pertinent to the correlating story, such as the patrol torpedo boats, aka "Devil Boats," in John F. Kennedy's chapter or Harry Truman's famous saying, "The buck stops here." These engaging offshoots enhance already absorbing content for a wonderfully entertaining, richly informative read. Middle-grade readers will surely be excited to learn history through Spradlin's concise, accessible writing. Plus, they'll feel in on a secret, possessing the details of these lesser-known stories. --Jen Forbus, freelancer