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This book is for a group of like-minded people who wish to read various books and discuss them. To grow (and to, likely, change) in our opinions and views of the world. Please join me. Just choose from the Books To Read list and we'll discuss which to read. If you feel a book is worth reading by the group, then let me know and we'll see if it...more »

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  • Michelle H

    Presidential Biography Reccomendations

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    Fitting in with my personality as it does, I am reading the biography of each of the U.S. presidents in order from George Washington through George W. Right now I am reading about John Quincy Adams. I would love any presidential biography recommendations of presidents who served after JQA. I have one selected for each president in my wish list, but a recommendation would be better than just blindly picking a book on each.
    Michelle H started this discussion 4 years ago. ( reply | permalink )

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  • helenjoy

    helenjoy 

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    What a great idea, Michelle! You'll learn so much American history by reading about the Presidents and the issues they faced. I've read books that were snippet biographies of all the Presidents, but not too much on individual ones except for Washington and Lincoln. I'll be watching your thread to gather recs too. :)
    posted 4 years ago. ( permalink )
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    • Michelle H

      Michelle H 

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      The other thing I have found is that you get different perspectives on each president because their lives overlapped. A biography might play up some things about a president then they next president's biography discusses other issues about the person that was in office before them. I feel like I am learning more about each one and by reading them in order, it is a lot fresher in my mind.
      posted 4 years ago. ( permalink )
  • Matt F

    Matt F 

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    I usually just go to Amazon, type in the president's name and see what I come up with. Obviously some presidents have many options (Lincoln, TR, FDR, etc) and others you have to take what you can get. (Why doesnt Millard Fillmore get more respect?)
    posted 4 years ago. ( permalink )
  • Regina L

    Regina L 

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    I have been saying for about a year now that I want to do this. Which ones have you read so far?

    posted 4 years ago. ( permalink )
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    • Kevin P

      Kevin P 

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      Hey Regina! 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!

      posted 3 years ago. ( permalink )
  • Tammy

    Tammy 

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    When you get to T.R., the best book I have read is The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. It is amazing to read about his youth and all he accomplished before becoming president. It's like he lived twelve life times in those few years. A really great read. Of course i haven't found a history book I didn't like!

    posted 4 years ago. ( permalink )
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    • Mark K

      Mark K 

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      I really liked The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt as well, but I've always felt that it from a fundamental flaw in that it's all "life" and no "times". You can read the first volume and never know that there was anything called a Progressive movement, a problem that the other volumes only magnify. This is a serious omission, as Progressivism was key to what Roosevelt did and to his impact on history. Without it, his books are like the "Mona Lisa" without the background, which creates something of a distorted image.

      posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )
  • Larry T

    Larry T 

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    Wow - quite an undertaking, but of course one a lot of us wish we had the time for. Some of the best presidentail bios I've ever read include the aforementioned "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" and its sequel, "Theodore Rex", both by Edmund Morris (with a final volume yet to come), Robert Caro's magnificent 3 (soon to be 4) volume bio of LBJ, MCCullough's "Truman", and "Richard Milhous Nixon" by Roger Morris.

    There are just so many great bios of FDR its difficult to choose just one; many have won major awards in past years. Some of the best include the 5 volume set by Kenneth S. Davis, a 2 volume bio by Geoffrey Ward, and (fairly recently), "FDR" by Jean Edward Smith. Then there's Doris Kearns Goodwin's magnificent and Pulitzer Prize winning "No Ordinary Time. Goodwin, of course, has gained renewed fame since President Obama announced that he's reading her book on Lincoln and his cabinet, "Team of Rivals", which is excellent in its own right.

    posted 4 years ago. ( permalink )
  • Michael Taustine

    Michael Taustine (edited)

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    You won't get to LBJ for a while, but I recommend the Robert Caro series, "The Years of Lyndon Johnson". The three volumes to date are splendidly engrossing.

    posted 4 years ago. ( permalink )
  • Bart Snel

    Bart Snel 

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    Great initiative! As I was planning to do something similar backwards, I'm afraid I'm not able to give you recommendations yet. I'll certainly follow this thread.

    posted 4 years ago. ( permalink )
  • Janis A

    Janis A 

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    My Dad and I are great history buffs. We both read a lot but just different types of books. I recently lost my Dad. As I was going through all of his books (he had over 1,400), I found at least one book on every president up to the last Bush. All of these books are hard back and in excellent condition. Some are as old as the 40s and 50s. What a treasure. I now have them in my home, on my bookcase and now it's my turn to start reading them. Maybe some day, I'll finally get them all read like my Dad did.

    posted 3 years ago. ( permalink )
  • Kevin P

    Kevin P 

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    Hey Michelle! 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!

    posted 3 years ago. ( permalink )
  • Mark K

    Mark K 

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    Michelle,

    I'm surprised you never joined CROAH; I guess you're further along on the list than we are. As I don't know where you are in your project at the moment, allow me to suggest some titles that have gone unmentioned:

    Woodrow Wilson: A Biography by John Milton Cooper
    Coolidge: An American Enigma by Robert Sobel
    An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963 by Robert Dallek
    President Reagan: The Role Of A Lifetime by Lou Cannon

    And I'd be careful about the "American Presidents" series; they're kind of a mixed bag in terms of quality.

    posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )
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    • Michelle H

      Michelle H 

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      Thanks for the recommendations. I started this project a few years ago but it was interrupted by grad school. I recently graduated and would like to continue on my quest through the presidential biographies. All of my selections are on my wish list. Take a look and see if there are others you think I should stay clear of.

      posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )
    • Mark K

      Mark K 

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      Well, have you considered joining the Chronological Read of American History? I'm finding the group to be an excellent means of working my way through the presidents at a steady pace.

      posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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