Presidential Books I Recommend

[pulledpork]

Ron Chernow's "Washington: A Life", which draws on the first new source material in over 40 years, and could be the most definitive single-volume biography of the first president to date.

Jimmy Carter's "White House Diary", for people like me who are big fans of primary source reading in history.

[snagglepuss]

1. Thanks for the recommendations.

Welcome. :hi:

[pulledpork]

2. You're welcome!

And thank you. :-)

[DebJ]

3. Chernow's Alexander Hamilton was pretty good. n/t

[thucythucy]

4. Thanks for the recommendations.

Might I add two of my own, for your consideration?

1) The Invention of George Washington, by Paul K. Longmore.

2) And if you're interested in primary sources, I highly recommend the Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Seven volumes or so, which include all his letters, speeches and drafts of speeches, telegrams to the front during the war, inscriptions on the backs of envelopes, the transcripts (such as they are) of the Lincoln/Douglas debates... It really makes for fascinating reading, one of those works you can pick up and start reading anywhere. I came away with a tremendous admiration for the man, and his gift as a writer.

Best wishes.

[pulledpork]

6. I welcome all recommendations!

I own and have read the 2-volume Library of America set of Lincoln's 'Speeches and Writings', which is very thorough (including the entire L-D debates).

[alp227]

5. ironically this thread has negative recs, but I give a +1

It's great to read about history..."Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." --George Santayana

[pulledpork]

7. I guess some people don't like my picks, lol

:-) I promise I won't quiz anyone on the books.

[Arkana]

8. Reading the Chernow book and it's excellent.

Also, I'd recommend David McCullough's "Truman", Jean Edward Smith's "FDR", and Robert Dallek's "John F. Kennedy: An Unfinished Life".

[pulledpork]

10. I really enjoyed "Truman"

I appreciate the "FDR" recommendation - I have been looking for a good single-volume work on his life.

[Arkana]

11. I'm somewhat of an addict.

I have pretty much every Presidential biography ever written. Library includes:

The Ascent of George Washington by John Ferling
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
John Adams by David McCullough
The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call To Greatness by Harlow Giles Unger
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
Abraham Lincoln by Ronald C. White
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Grant by Jean Edward Smith
Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris
Woodrow Wilson by John Milton Cooper Jr.
FDR by Jean Edward Smith
Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt by H.W. Brands
Truman by David McCullough
Eisenhower: Soldier and President by Stephen Ambrose
Ike by Michael Korda
John F. Kennedy: An Unfinished Life by Robert Dallek
Jack by Geoffrey Perret
Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Lyndon Johnson: Portrait of a President by Robert Dallek
Robert Kennedy: His Life by Evan Thomas
Richard Nixon: A Life in Full by Conrad Black
President Nixon: Alone in the White House by Richard Reeves
President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination by Richard Reeves
Bill Clinton: Mastering the Presidency by Nigel Hamilton

If there's any not on that list, let me know--I want to get them. I've read all the ones on that list with the exception of a couple. Plus, I can't find a good one on Jefferson. Ironic.

[pulledpork]

12. Have you read Clinton's memoirs? "My Life"

Also... I enjoyed "American Lion". I found the most interesting segment was how he confronted (as Jackson was prone to do) the major Religious Right figure of his day. He called him out on his moralizing and hypocrisy. If only any of the recent presidents did that to Billy Graham, lol.

I have also read David Herbert Donald's single-volume biography "Lincoln", McCullough's "John Adams", and a handful of Jimmy Carter's books.

I also recommend Alan Pell Crawford's "Twilight At Monticello", a fascinating narrative of Jefferson's post-presidential years. Walter R. Borneman's bio "Polk" is a good overview of his eventful and consequential single term in office.

[craigmatic]

9. I like Carter's Keeping Faith.