One of my major hobbies is collecting (and reading) biographies, autobiographies, diaries, etc. of American Presidents. My collection of several hundred such books includes at least one biography of every president. I also have biographies of a number of the First Ladies. I would enjoy corresponding with anyone of you who share this passion.

It's a shame that this topic has not generated any response. It seems that a majority of LTers are fiction oriented but there should be enough of us non-fics. to make this viable. I have long had a desire to read one good bio. of each President and thought LT the perfect venue to find that one highly regarded volume for each. So far I have read Donald on Lincoln, McCullough on Truman, Adams and T.R., Morris on Reagan and an Eisenhower whose author I can't recall. Shortly it will be Ellis on Washington.

If anyone drifts by this, any recommendations would be great.

Message edited by its author, Jan 23, 2008, 3:57pm.

At last! Someone else interested in the American Presidency. Why are we so few in number or at least so silent? For starters, I have these recommendations:
Grover Cleveland: a Study in Courage by Allan Nevins.
Washington: The Indespensible Man by James Flexner This is old, 1974 I think, but is a scholarly classic.
Personal Memoirs: U.S. Grant by U.S. Grant Generally considered to be the best presidential memoir ever.
First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton by David Maraniss. It is difficult to write objectively about a living subject, but this author does it well.
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. His biography of Reagan is a bomb, but he did a good job with Teddy.
The Life and Times of William Howard Taft by Henry Pringle.
The Shadow of Blooming Grove: Warren G. Harding in His Times by Francis Russell.
American Presidents Series: Martin Van Buren by Ted Widmer. The volumes in this series are of uneven quality, but this one is a winner.

I hope you find something that will interest you in this list.

Quite a few LT members use the tag Presidents.

If you scroll down below the list of books, you will see a list of LT members who use that tag.

Message edited by its author, Jan 24, 2008, 3:00am.

#3 Thanks for the ideas especially the 'minor' pres. (Cleveland, Harding etc). I have the Flexner set and am thinking of starting it but still may read Ellis first. I agree with you on Dutch. The real problem there was the way he told the story through a fictional character, strange treatment for an important bio.

#4 I have used tags to search and perused other libraries, that's what makes LT great. Here we have a forum to discuss the qualities of the volumes we find in other libraries and their worthiness of joining mine.

Thanks everyone!

Here are a few books that I've enjoyed and I will also second the Flexner Washington book, good selection.

Time and chance : Gerald Ford's appointment with history by James Cannon
Nixon, a life by Jonathan Aitken (one wonders what Shakespeare would have written about Tricky Dick...)
Polk : the man who transformed the presidency and America by Walter R. Borneman. (newly published, solid book on an overlooked President who accomplished what he set out to do.)

Message edited by its author, Jul 10, 2008, 2:44am.

I have been reading about the Presidents since I was in elementary school. One year a teacher gave us the free booklet on the Presidents put out by John Hancock Insurance Company. Then came the Arrow Book of Presidents, American Heritage's 12 vol., The Glorious Burden, and eventually individual biographies. I have a couple of hundred books on the Presidents now and keep adding to it via library sales, Ebay, Abebooks, and the local bookstores.

Fiction is nice now and then, but the overwhelming majority of books that I have are on the Presidents, history, or politics.

My sister and I have created a new Challenge group you might be interested in... US Presidents Challenge. Maybe you'll join us.
Cheli

Hey! Started doing just that as well as collecting Presidential campaign period biographies about 30 years ago! GOOD FOR YOU!!! I can recommend my favorite bios and authors on nearly all of the US Presidents. Hit me up and i'd luv to share! Luv to hear bout what u have

Hey Gordon!! Started doing just that as well as collecting Presidential campaign period biographies about 30 years ago! GOOD FOR YOU!!! I can recommend my favorite bios and authors on nearly all of the US Presidents. Hit me up and i'd luv to share!

BYW My interest lies mainly with the "minor" Presidents. (I prefer to refer to them as "less heralded" LOL)