Back in July of 2007 I decided to start a project to read at least one book about each of our presidents. I have made some progress and have found this to be a great way to learn more about American history.
Here is a list of the presidents, the books I have read, and links to my blogs about those books. I’ll update this post every time I finish another presidential biography.
In looking at this list it shocked me to realize that more than 25% of these presidents served during my life time!
1. George Washington, 1789-1797
His Excellency George Washington by Joseph-Ellis
2. John Adams, 1797-1801
John Adams by David McCullough
3. Thomas Jefferson, 1801-1809
Thomas Jefferson by R.B. Bernstein
4. James Madison, 1809-1817
James Madison a Biography by Ralph Ketcham
5. James Monroe, 1817-1825
James Monroe – The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon
6. John Quincy Adams, 1825-1829
John Quincy Adams – A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul C. Nagel
7. Andrew Jackson, 1829-1837
American Lion – Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
8. Martin Van Buren, 1837-1841
Martin Van Buren by Ted Widmer
9. William Henry Harrison, 1841
Old Tippecanoe – William Henry Harrison and His Time by Freeman Cleaves
10. John Tyler, 1841-1845
John Tyler -The Accidental President by Edward P. Crapol
11. James Knox Polk, 1845-1849
A Country of Vast Designs – James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent by Robert W. Merry
12. Zachary Taylor, 1849-1850
Zachary Taylor by John S.D. Eisenhower
13. Millard Fillmore, 1850-1853
Millard Fillmore – Biography of a President by Robert J. Rayback
14. Franklin Pierce, 1853-1857
Franklin Pierce – New Hampshire’s Favorite Son by Peter A. Wallner
15. James Buchanan, 1857-1861
Worst. President. Ever. – James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game and The Legacy of the Lesser of the Lesser Presidents.
16. Abraham Lincoln, 1861-1865
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
17. Andrew Johnson, 1865-1869
18. Ulysses Simpson Grant, 1869-1877
19. Rutherford Birchard Hayes, 1877-1881
20. James Abram Garfield, 1881
Destiny of the Republic – A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
21. Chester Alan Arthur, 1881-1885
22. Grover Cleveland, 1885-1889
23. Benjamin Harrison, 1889-1893
24. Grover Cleveland, 1893-1897
25. William McKinley, 1897-1901
26. Theodore Roosevelt, 1901-1909
27. William Howard Taft, 1909-1913
28. Woodrow Wilson, 1913-1921
29. Warren Gamaliel Harding, 1921-1923
30. Calvin Coolidge, 1923-1929
31. Herbert Clark Hoover, 1929-1933
32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933-1945
No Ordinary Time – Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
33. Harry S. Truman, 1945-1953
34. Dwight David Eisenhower 1953-1961
35. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961-1963
36. Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1963-1969
37. Richard Milhous Nixon, 1969-1974
38. Gerald Rudolph Ford, 1974-1977
39. James Earl Carter, Jr., 1977-1981
40. Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1981-1989
41. George Herbert Walker Bush, 1989-1993
42. William Jefferson Clinton, 1993-2001
43. George Walker Bush, 2001-2009
44. Barack Hussein Obama, 2009-2017
45. Donald Trump, 2017-
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