Presidential Reads

These titles include tales, biographies, and the histories of our Commanders in Chief and their work in the White House.

Updated November 25, 2024
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Reagan : his life and legend
Boot, Max
Paper Book
In this "monumental and impressive" biography, Max Boot, the distinguished political columnist, illuminates the untold story of Ronald Reagan, revealing the man behind the mythology. Drawing on interviews with over one hundred of the fortieth president's aides, friends, and family members, as...
The Virginia dynasty : four presidents and the creation of the American nation
Cheney, Lynne V.
Paper Book
From a small expanse of land on the North American continent came four of the nation's first five presidents - a geographic dynasty whose members led a revolution, created a nation, and ultimately changed the world. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe were born, grew...
Citizen : my life after the White House
Clinton, Bill
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A powerful, candid, and richly detailed memoir from an American icon, revealing what life looks like after the presidency: triumphs, tribulations, and all. On January 20, 2001, after nearly thirty years in politics--eight of them as...
Accidental presidents : eight men who changed America
Cohen, Jared
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The strength and prestige of the American presidency has waxed and waned since George Washington. Accidental Presidents looks at eight men who came to the office without being elected to it. It demonstrates how the character of the man...
Life after power : seven presidents and their search for purpose beyond the White House
Cohen, Jared
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller New York Times bestselling author of Accidental Presidents explores what happens after the most powerful job in the world: President of the United States. Former presidents have an unusual place in American...
Becoming FDR : the personal crisis that made a president
Darman, Jonathan
Paper Book
"An illuminating account of how Franklin D. Roosevelt's struggles with polio steeled him for the great struggles of the Depression and of World War II."--Jon Meacham "A valuable book for anyone who wants to know how adversity shapes character. By understanding how FDR became a...
The trials of Harry S. Truman : the extraordinary presidency of an ordinary man, 1945-1953
Frank, Jeffrey
Paper Book
Jeffrey Frank, author of the bestselling Ike and Dick, returns with the first full account of the Truman presidency in nearly thirty years, recounting how so ordinary a man met the extraordinary challenge of leading America through the pivotal years of the mid-20th century.
Watergate : a new history
Graff, Garrett M.
Paper Book
Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "Do we need still another Watergate book? The answer turns out to be yes--this one." --The Washington Post * "Dazzling." --The New York Times Book Review From the...
Tired of winning : Donald Trump and the end of the Grand Old Party
Karl, Jonathan
Paper Book
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "The most important thing that has been written to date about what is in front of the American people in the next presidential election." --Nicolle Wallace An extraordinary view into the politics of our times,...
And there was light : Abraham Lincoln and the American struggle
Meacham, Jon
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . Pulitzer Prize-winning biographerJon Meacham chronicles the life of Abraham Lincoln, charting how-and why-he confronted secession, threats to democracy, and the tragedy of slavery to expand the possibilities of America. "Meacham has given us...
A promised land
Obama, Barack
Paper Book
A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making--from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE * NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK...
Joe Biden : the life, the run, and what matters now
Osnos, Evan
Paper Book
*A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR* A concise, brilliant, and trenchant examination of Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s successful lifelong quest for the presidency by National Book Award winner Evan Osnos. President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has been called both the...
The situation room : the inside story of presidents in crisis
Stephanopoulos, George
Paper Book
 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER George Stephanopoulos, the legendary political news host and former advisor to President Clinton, recounts the history-making crises from the place where twelve presidents made their highest-pressure decisions: the White...
Incomparable grace : JFK in the presidency
Updegrove, Mark K.
Paper Book
Nearly sixty years after his death, JFK still holds an outsize place in American culture. While Baby Boomers remember his dazzling presence as president, millennials more likely know him from advertisements for Omega watches or Ray Ban sunglasses. Yet his years in office were marked by more than his...

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