President Andrew Jackson knew winning was not guaranteed, but still loved to gamble.

President Bush uses nicknames within his administration.

Buried beneath the political history that defines presidents are their pastimes.

At 91, Paul F. Boller Jr., best-selling author and TCU professor emeritus of history, will discuss the unheard habits of presidents in an interview symposium tonight called “Presidents at Play: Observations by Dr. Paul F. Boller Jr.,” said Ann McDonald, director of development for the AddRan College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

McDonald said Boller will answer questions based on his current book, “Presidential Diversions: Presidents at Play from George Washington to George W. Bush.”

“He is a delightful man and sharp as a tack,” she said.

Bob Ray Sanders, an adjunct journalism professor and Star-Telegram columnist, will conduct the interview with Boller.

The format of the event, a live interview between an author and reporter, is similar to the Star-Telegram’s author series, McDonald said.

Students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members will have a chance to ask Boller questions as well, and books will be available for purchase and signing.

AddRan, the Britain Society, which is a planned giving society, and Golden Frogs, a group of alumni who graduated between 1930 and 1959, will host the event.

A few of the books Boller has written include “Presidential Wives: An Anecdotal History,” “Presidential Campaigns,” “Presidential Anecdotes,” “Not So!: Popular Myths About America From Columbus to Clinton,” and “Congressional Anecdotes.”

For Your Info

“Presidents at Play: Observations by Dr. Paul F. Boller Jr.”
When: 4:30 &- 6:30 p.m. today
Where: Dee J. Kelly Alumni & Visitors Center
Admission: $5 for students, $10 for alumni, faculty, staff and community members