A couple of years ago, I decided to read at least one book about every US president. It’s slow going, but I’m enjoying it. I started off trying to do it in chronological order, but I have a poor attention span, sooooo. That didn’t happen. But if anyone wants to join in, please do so! Here’s the list so far, please feel free to send in recommendations. I’ll be including a link to the reviews as I do them as well as to where you can purchase the book (but when possible, support your local library!).
Please note: I’ll be discussing my opinions on the book rather than my opinions on the president in question. I’d end up giving entire essays instead of blog posts if that were the case.
-Kymberly
President | Book | Author | Review |
George Washington | Washington’s Spies | Alexander Rose | Link |
John Adams | John Adams | David McCullough | |
Thomas Jefferson | Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates | Brian Kilmeade | Link |
James Madison | James Madison | Lynne Cheney | |
James Monroe | James Monroe | Gary Hart | |
John Quincy Adams | John Quincy Adams; American Visionary | Fred Kaplin | |
Andrew Jackson | American Lion | Jon Meacham | |
Martin Van Buren | Martin Van Buren | Ted Widmer | |
William Henry Harrison | William Henry Harrison | Gail Collins | |
John Tyler | John Tyler | Gary May | |
James K. Polk | A Wicked War | Amy S. Greenberg | |
Zachary Taylor | Zachary Taylor | John S. D. Eisenhower | |
Millard Fillmore | Millard Fillmore | Paul Finkelman | |
Franklin Pierce | Franklin Pierce | Michael F. Holt | |
James Buchanan | The Worst President: The Story of James Buchanan | Garry Boulard | |
Abraham Lincoln | Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer | James L. Swanson | Link |
Andrew Johnson | Andrew Johnson | Annette Gordon-Reed | |
Ulysses S. Grant | Grant | Geoffrey Perret | |
Rutherford B. Hayes | Rutherford B. Hayes | Hans Trefousse | |
James A. Garfield | Destiny of the Republic | Candice Millard | |
Chester A. Arthur | Chester Alan Arthur | Zachary Karabell | |
Grover Cleveland | Grover Cleveland | Henry F. Graff | |
Benjamin Harrison | Benjamin Harrison | Charles W. Calhoun | |
William McKinley | The Triumph of William McKinley | Karl Rove | |
Theodore Roosevelt | The Bully Pulpit | Doris Kearns Goodwin | |
William Howard Taft | The Imperial Cruise | James Bradley | |
Woodrow Willson | Wilson | A. Scott Berg | |
Warren G. Harding | Warren G. Harding | John W. Dean | |
Calvin Coolidge | Coolidge | Amity Shlaes | |
Herbert Hoover | Herbert Hoover: A Life | Glen Jeansonne | |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Political Life | Robert Dallek | |
Harry S. Truman | Where the Buck Stops | Harry S. Truman | |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | Eisenhower in War and Peace | Jean Edward Smith | |
John F. Kennedy | End of Days | James Swanson | Link |
Lydon B. Johnson | Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream | Doris Kearns Goodwin | |
Richard Nixon | Being Nixon: A Man Divided | Evan Thomas | |
Gerald Ford | Gerald R. Ford | Douglas Brinkley | |
Jimmy Carter | An Hour Before Daylight | Jimmy Carter | |
Ronald Reagan | The Witness and the President | K. Snyder | |
George H. W. Bush | The Endgame: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from George W. Bush to Barack Obama | Michael R Gordon, Bernard E Trainor | |
Bill Clinton | The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House | John F. Harris | |
George W. Bush | Bush | Jean Edward Smith | |
Barack Obama | Barack Obama: The Story | David Maraniss | |
Donald Trump | What Happened | Hillary Rodham Clinton |