This book is a companion to my two previous works in this series on American leaders: "Presidential Profiles" (2008) and "Vice Presidential Profiles" (2013). It provides short biographies of the seventeen men who have served as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. As such, they have had the unchecked power to invalidate laws of Congress and State governments as well as acts of Presidents. Because these men have always been largely removed from public view, and yet so important to the development of our country, I have called them our "hidden" leaders. In each biographical sketch, the reader will learn about the childhood, family life, educational background and career of the Chief Justice.

This book is a companion to my "Presidential Profiles," published in 2008. It provides short biographies on each of the thirty-three vice presidents who never became president. Most readers are familiar with those like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson who did rise to the presidency and so I have decided to write about those less well known.

Because most of these vice-presidents are virtually forgotten today and yet were very prominent and important figures in their time, I have subtitled the book: "Our Forgotten Leaders." In each biographical sketch, the reader will learn about the childhood and youth of the subject, his educational background, his marriage and family life, his career before becoming vice president, his vice presidency and his life after leaving office.

"Presidential Profiles" is a book that displays bright and colorful verbal pictures of the forty-two men who have led our country from George Washington to George W. Bush. Unlike many works about the presidents, this one is neither a large tome nor a complex study of presidential policies or historical themes arranged by more or less useful analytical categories. Philip Secor, and acclaimed author and historian, has provided here a useful comparative reference for the beginning student and, at the same time, a "good read" for the history buff. Although there are few footnotes and no extensive bibliography, there are a few books suggested for further reading on each president. Each profile seeks to answer four general questions: (1)What kind of person was (is) he in terms of appearance, temperament, personal habits and idiosyncracies? (2) What was his childhood and early life like and what did he do before becoming president? (3) What did he accomplish as president? (4) What did he do after leaving office and what was the manner of his death? Throughout, special emphasis is placed on personal and social relationships.