973.4-973.93: Presidential History

This collection contains titles that chronicle the lives of the American presidents. It consists mostly of biographies and memoirs but will also contain historical texts about important events where a president's actions and decision-making skills were significant.

Updated June 24, 2023
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1

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...

2

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...

3

Bill O'Reilly's Legends & lies : the patriots
Fisher, David
Paper Book
The must-have companion to Bill O'Reilly's historical docudrama Legends and Lies: The Patriots, an exciting and eye-opening look at the Revolutionary War through the lives of its leaders The American Revolution was neither inevitable nor a unanimous cause. It pitted...

4

Destiny of the Republic : a tale of madness, medicine and the murder of a president
Millard, Candice.
Paper Book
James A. Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired reformist congressman. Nominated for president against his will, he engaged in a fierce battle with the...

5

Dinner with the president : food, politics, and a history of breaking bread at the White House
Prud'homme, Alex
Paper Book
A sumptuous narrative history of presidential food--from Washington starving at Valley Forge to Trump's well-done steaks with ketchup--from the co-author of My Life in France. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is perhaps the most important house in the world, which gives the food...

6

The first conspiracy : the secret plot to kill George Washington
Meltzer, Brad
Paper Book
Taking place during the most critical period of our nation's birth, The First Conspiracy tells a remarkable and previously untold piece of American history that not only reveals George Washington's character, but also illuminates the origins of America's counterintelligence movement...

7

First dads : parenting and politics from George Washington to Barack Obama
Kendall, Joshua C.
Audiobook
Every president has had some experience as a parent. Of the 43 men who have served in the nation's highest office, 38 have fathered biological children and the other five adopted children. Each president's parenting style reveals much about his beliefs as well as his psychological make-up....

8

The Jeffersonians : the visionary presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe
Gutzman, Kevin R. C.
Paper Book
"A long, insightful look at three Founder presidents. ... Political histories are rarely page-turners, but Gutzman, clearly a scholar who has read everything on his subjects, writes lively prose and displays a refreshingly opinionated eye for a huge cast of characters and their often...

9

Leadership in turbulent times
Goodwin, Doris Kearns
Paper Book
From Pulitzer Prize-winning author and esteemed presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, an invaluable guide to the development and exercise of leadership from Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The inspiration for the...

10

The Lincoln conspiracy : the secret plot to kill America's 16th president--and why it failed
Meltzer, Brad
Paper Book
Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch, the bestselling authors of The First Conspiracy, which covers the secret plot against George Washington, now turn their attention to a little-known, but true story about a failed assassination attempt on the sixteenth president in The Lincoln Conspiracy<...

11

No ordinary time : Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt : the home front in World War II
Goodwin, Doris Kearns.
Paper Book
Doris Kearns Goodwin's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic about the relationship between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, and how it shaped the nation while steering it through the Great Depression and the outset of World War II. With an extraordinary collection of...

12

The president and the freedom fighter : Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and their battle to save America's soul
Kilmeade, Brian
Paper Book
Brian Kilmeade tells the little-known story of how Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass moved from strong disagreement to friendship, uniting over their love for the Constitution and over their surprising commonalities. Both came from destitution. Both were self-educated and self-made men. Both...

13

The problem of democracy : the Presidents Adams confront the cult of personality
Isenberg, Nancy
Paper Book
"Told with authority and style. . . Crisply summarizing the Adamses' legacy, the authors stress principle over partisanship."--The Wall Street Journal How the father and son presidents foresaw the rise of the cult of personality and fought those who sought to abuse the...

14

Travels with George : in search of Washington and his legacy
Philbrick, Nathaniel
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Travels with George . . . is quintessential Philbrick--a lively, courageous, and masterful achievement." --The Boston Globe   Does George Washington still matter? Bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick argues for...

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