Reading the Presidents: A Book About Each United States President (Updated and Expanded!)
Back in 2022, I published one of my most viewed articles ever — a recommended reading list of a book about each president. To celebrate President’s Day, this list is being updated and expanded. Not just one book for each president — but two! In addition, I will be including five upcoming books that I can’t wait to read, each of these books coming out later this year. For brevity sake, I will be focusing in on just a few of these books and my thoughts on them. I hope you’ll find this to be a comprehensive recommended reading list featuring nearly 100 books for the 44 individuals who have served as Commander in Chief.
George Washington
Washington: A Life — Ron Chernow
There’s no shortage of biographies about our nation’s first president, but none have been as enthralling as Ron Chernow’s. I read this for the first time in 2022 (having admittedly been intimidated by its length), but constantly return to this book for reference and even guidance. An all-encompassing portrait of Washington which stands the test of time and which won’t be forgotten by a reader.
His Excellency: George Washington — Joseph J. Ellis
John Adams
John Adams — David McCullough
John Adams: A Life — John Ferling
There are some presidents who are defined by a single biography. David McCullough’s masterful work casts an enormous shadow over other Adams books, but in John Ferling’s 1992 biography, you see what the conversation and impression of Adams was before McCullough stepped in. While not as gifted a storyteller, Ferling is exemplary in clarity and succinct fact that appeals less to the heartstrings and more towards the logical case to be made about what makes Adams a worthwhile figure in American history.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power — Jon Meacham
Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh — Thomas S. Kidd
James Madison
The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President — Noah Feldman
James Madison — Richard Brookhiser
James Monroe
The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness — Harlow Giles Unger
James Monroe: A Life — Tim McGrath
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit — James Traub
John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life — Paul C. Nagel
Andrew Jackson
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House — Jon Meacham
Avenging the People: Andrew Jackson, the Rule of Law, and the American Nation — J.M. Opal
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren and the American Political System — Donald B. Cole
Martin Van Buren — Ted Widmer
William Henry Harrison
Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison — Robert Owens
Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time — Freeman Cleaves
John Tyler
President without a Party: The Life of John Tyler — Christopher J. Leahy
John Tyler, the Accidental President — Edward P. Crapol
James K. Polk
A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent — Robert W. Merry
Polk: The Man who Transformed the Presidency and America — Walter R. Borneman
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest — K. Jack Bauer
Zachary Taylor — John S.D. Eisenhower
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore — Paul Finkelman
Millard Fillmore — Robert J. Scarry
Franklin Pierce
Life of Franklin Pierce — Nathaniel Hawthorne
Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire’s Favorite Son — Peter A. Wallner
James Buchanan
The Worst President: The Story of James Buchanan — Garry Boulard
Bosom Friends: The Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King — Thomas J. Balcerski
Abraham Lincoln
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln — Doris Kearns Goodwin
And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle — Jon Meacham
More than anything, this is a biography for the times that we live in, Jon Meacham deftly arguing that the fortitude of Lincoln, his own personal evolution on policy, and unflinching audacity towards moral goodness are what should be most revered today and emulated. Honing in on Lincoln’s political tactics and his faith, Meacham offers a biography of Lincoln told almost exclusively through the eyes of others in his life. It is the smaller moments that dominate here; Lincoln consulting with priests and Black delegations, his fiddling with clothes while feeling antsy or smiling broadly as he read the Bible, or the lashes he felt from his father as a boy after a quick retort. These moments, many of which I’d never read about before, elevate the text to offer something truly new and insightful about the man many of us think we know enough about.
Andrew Johnson
Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy — David O. Stewart
Andrew Johnson: A Biography — Hans L. Trefousse
Ulysses S. Grant
The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant — Ulysses S. Grant
The first of three books on this list that are written by the presidents themselves, and this is, without a doubt, the best one. Grant’s memoirs are essential readings and offer a fascinating and honest, self-reflective look at Grant’s years prior to his presidency. With remarkable beauty in his prose which has a confidence too it unmatched by even some of the most studied biographers of Grant himself, this is a poignant reflection on the man and the general who defined a nation and who helped to save it. Strongly recommend finding an annotated copy too to learn even more about the historical context in which Grant is writing in.
Grant — Ron Chernow
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President — Ari Hoogenboom
Fraud of the Century: Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel Tilden, and the Stolen Election of 1876 — Roy Morris Jr.
James A. Garfield
President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier — C.W. Goodyear
This will no doubt serve as the authorize and most compressive Garfield biography for years to come. While I feel it’s next to impossible not to compare this with the other notable Garfield book of recent memory (Candice Millard’s exemplary Destiny of the Republic), C.W. Goodyear offers something fresh by focusing less on Garfield’s assassination and more on the life and beliefs of Garfield himself. If anything, this can serve as a perfect companion to Millard’s book as where Millard’s story picks up, Goodyear’s is beginning to wind down. This is highly readable and accessible with genuinely thrilling moments throughout (the presidential nomination process for Garfield was probably my favorite section of the book).
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President — Candice Millard
Chester Alan Arthur
The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur — Scott S. Greenberger
The Accidental President: Chester A. Arthur — John M. Pafford
Grover Cleveland
A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland — Troy Senik
There hasn’t been a serious biography of Cleveland in over a decade, with the previous books on him indulging in the more sensational and sordid details of Cleveland’s legacy, often with animosity dripping through the pages. (See my other recommended biography of Cleveland’s which can offer some counterbalance to this one). Senik offers a refreshing change of pace, lauding Cleveland’s personal and political integrity while rightly criticizing his missteps and miscalculations along the way, painting a more nuanced and human picture of Cleveland than ever before offered of the 22nd and 24th president.
Benjamin Harrison
Mr. President: A Life of Benjamin Harrison — Ray E. Boomhower
The Presidency of Benjamin Harrison — Homer E. Socolofsky and Allan Spetter
Grover Cleveland
The President Is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth — Matthew Algeo
William McKinley
President McKinley: Architect of the American Century — Robert W. Merry
The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century — Scott Miller
Theodore Roosevelt
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt — Edmund Morris
African Games Trails — Theodore Roosevelt
The second book on this list written by the president themselves, Roosevelt’s African Game Trails reads like an adventure novel. This may not be for everyone — the focus is on his 1909–1910 travels and hunts through Africa, so there will be lengthy descriptions of hunting lions, cape buffalo, and elephants — but for those looking for a true Roosevelt ride, this is the book for you. This has suspense, fascinating personal stories and anecdotes, and reads with surprising ease.
William Howard Taft
The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism — Doris Kearns Goodwin
William Howard Taft: An Intimate History — Judith Icke Anderson
Woodrow Wilson
The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made — Patricia O’Toole
Wilson — A. Scott Berg
Warren G. Harding
The Harding Era: Warren G. Harding and His Administration — Robert K. Murray
The Teapot Dome Scandal: How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House and Tried to Steal the Country — Laton McCartney
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge: The Presidency and Philosophy of a Progressive Conservative — M.C. Murphy
Coolidge — Amity Shlaes
Herbert Hoover
Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times — Kenneth Whyte
Herbert Hoover in the White House: The Ordeal of the Presidency — Charles Rappleye
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II — Doris Kearns Goodwin
FDR: Transforming the Presidency and Renewing America — Iwan Morgan
This is not a standard biography nor is it one I would recommend to a casual reader of history. Instead, this is for those eager to read about the intricate details of administrative procedure and execution of some of the largest programs in American history. There are no shortage of books about FDR, but Iwan Morgan’s text manages to stand head and shoulders above the rest thanks to his focused narrative, organizational structure throughout, and level of detail incorporated into the text. For a more seasoned historical reader and researcher, this will prove to be a great read.
Harry S. Truman
Truman — David McCullough
The Watchdog: How the Truman Committee Battled Corruption and Helped Win World War Two — Steve Drummond
What could have easily been a dry read about the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program — or the Truman Committee — Steve Drummond instead makes the work of the junior Senator from Missouri and his colleagues gripping and dramatic without shortchanging the details. What’s so striking to me as I read this was how encompassing the detail goes. Not only is Truman and his personal involvement in the Committee thoroughly researched, but those of his Senate colleagues, the staff (and the relationships and even marriages which sprung up thanks to the Committee’s creation), even down to whistleblowing steel workers with each receiving attention.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eisenhower in War and Peace — Jean Edward Smith
The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s — William I. Hitchcock
John F. Kennedy
JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917–1956 — Fredrik Logevall
An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 — Robert Dallek
Lyndon B. Johnson
The Years of Lyndon Johnson (Book Three): Master of the Senate — Robert Caro
Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream — Doris Kearns Goodwin
Richard M. Mixon
King Richard: Nixon and Watergate — An American Tragedy — Michael Dobbs
Being Nixon: A Man Divided — Evan Thomas
Gerald Ford
An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford — Richard Norton Smith
Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life — James Cannon
Jimmy Carter
His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life — Jonathan Alter
A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety — Jimmy Carter
The third and final book written by the president themselves. Carter has written dozens of books over the years, but as Carter himself nears 100, this is perhaps the most necessary one to read to understand Carter as an individual. It was delightful hearing about trips, struggles, and triumphs from not merely a man who occupied the highest office, but also one who had lived a life in full. This is an excellent read for anyone who is interested in living a fulfilling life, and I imagine and hope that’s quite a few people out there.
Ronald Reagan
Reagan: American Icon — Iwan Morgan
Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan — Edmund Morris
George Herbert Walker Bush
Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush — Jon Meacham
The Quiet Man: The Indispensable Presidency of George H.W. Bush — John H. Sununu
Bill Clinton
The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House — John F. Harris
First in His Class: A Biography Of Bill Clinton — David Maraniss
George W. Bush
Bush — Jean Edward Smith
The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush — Mark K. Updegrove
Barack Obama
The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama — David Remnick
Barack Obama: The Story — David Maraniss
Donald Trump
The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017–2021 — Peter Baker and Susan Glasser
With recent presidents, including incumbents, I become hesitant to read too many biographies of them given that the events and actions detailed are often so close to the front of my memory. The same is the case here, with so much of what has been “exposed” being what many of us have crystal clear memories experiencing. The difficulty too is the emotions around the figures being written about are heightened and political rhetoric is at its peak with recent presidencies and their legacies. Still, despite a provocative title, The Divider is without question the definitive biography of the Trump presidency. (Below’s recommendation is a much better look at Trump prior to the presidency, being that it was published in 2017).
Trump Revealed: The Definitive Biography of the 45th President — Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher
Joe Biden
Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now — Evan Osnos
Perhaps it’s because of his incumbency, but there are scant books about Biden himself that I could truly call exhaustive biographies. This one is a brief look (and I mean BRIEF, it’s under 200 pages) at Biden’s life prior to his presidency, focusing primarily on his Senate career and personal tragedies. Published shortly before the 2020 presidential election, this is a forward-looking book too and offers some unique insight into a theoretical Biden presidency, and now we can see what came to fruition and what didn’t. An interesting time capsule piece more than anything.
Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency — Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes
Upcoming Books
The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President — Edward F. O’Keefe (May 7)
Theodore Roosevelt is often most remembered today for his image of rugged masculinity and while that is a strong part of his personality and life, it’s not all of it. Throughout his life, Roosevelt was influenced by multiple women, and here, O’Keefe is looking at how these women — from his mother to his sisters to his two wives — shaped Roosevelt’s thinking, passions, and skills in the political arena. I’ve long admired Edith Roosevelt as a First Lady and can’t wait to read more, especially about Roosevelt’s dynamics with his sisters and how they made him the leader we know today.
Awakening the Spirit of America: FDR’s War of Words with Charles Lindbergh — and the Battle to Save Democracy — Paul M. Sparrow (June 4)
Two larger-than-life personalities on two opposing sides of one of the largest geopolitical and militaristic efforts in world history. With Franklin Delano Roosevelt rousing the American public to support American intervention in World War II, he was faced with an outspoken, powerful, and wealthy critic — aviation hero Charles Lindbergh. Tackling fascism, its influence on the American psyche, and mastering media manipulation, Sparrow is looking at how and why Roosevelt managed to overcome his charismatic and well-connected rival in this war of words. Roosevelt (like his cousin) is one of my favorite presidents and I’m fascinated to see Sparrow hone in on one of Roosevelt’s greatest skills — his persuasiveness.
John Quincy Adams: A Man for the Whole People — Randall Woods (June 25)
Perhaps no one was as qualified to become president as John Quincy Adams was, yet little is written or remembered today about his life, presidency, and accomplishments beyond the presidency itself. A new, definitive biography of the sixth president, Woods will be looking at Adams’s intellectual pursuits, his strained familial relationships between his wife and three sons, and his post-presidency where Adams became one of the most vocal critics of slavery. I don’t read as much about the younger Adams presidents as I should, so cannot wait to dig into this one.
The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon: The Life and Times of Washington’s Most Private First Lady — Heath Hardage Lee (August 6)
What was the woman like who stood by Richard Nixon for over 50-years? Thelma “Pat” Nixon is often overshadowed by other First Ladies of the 1960s and 70s (see Jackie Kennedy and Betty Ford), but perhaps this was by design. One of the most well-traveled and adventurous women to become First Lady, this biography will look at how Nixon worked with and around her husband to enact influence in the White House and around the world through empathy and strategic maneuvering. I’m eager to read more about one of the most enigmatic First Ladies and to see what new light could be shed on this private individual in the public spotlight.
Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic — Lindsay M. Chervinsky (September 5)
From the author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution and co-editor of Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture, comes a new exploration of John Adams’s leadership and legacy as president. Filling the shoes of George Washington is no easy task and having not endeared himself to the public quite as well as Washington had been able to, Adams was tasked with addressing rising international and domestic conflicts and preserving the early, chaotic days of the American public as its leadership changed hands. I’m fascinated to see how Chervinsky will address the often-overlooked Adams presidency and seeing how Adams shaped executive leadership.
And here we are! At the end and with hopefully plenty of books to crowd your bookshelves. If you’re excited to read and learn, be sure to shop and support your local bookstores and libraries and share what you’ve learned with others. With each of these books, there’s always so much to discover about how each of these presidents left their own unique mark on America.
