Since Presidents’ Day is just around the corner, it seems a reasonable time to take a look at the men who have filled the position for the past 223 years. Of course, there are some who are household names – I doubt there’s anyone in America who can’t name at least 5 – but there are a few who are definitely less well-known (quick – tell me about Chester Arthur).
Still, it is interesting to see the different qualities we Americans have looked for in our leaders over time. At times we’ve wanted executives who are steadfast, yet not afraid to be unconventional; likeable, yet someone others might fear; strong, yet able to express emotion. With such elaborate expectations, is it any wonder it now takes us 3 years to go through the election process?
So, in honor of the day, here are biographies for all 44. Since a few have had more than their fair share of attention (I’m looking at you, Honest Abe), I’ve limited some to just two.
(1) George Washington
- Washington: An Abridgement in One Volume by Richard Harwell of the Seven-Volume George Washington by Douglas Southall Freeman – Richard Barksdale Harwell (Freeman’s book on the Pulitzer in 1958)
- Washington: A Life - Ron Chernow (Pulitzer Prize Winner 2011)
(2) John Adams
- John Adams - David McCullough (Pulitzer Prize Winner 2002)
- My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams – edited by Margaret A. Hogan and James C. Taylor
(3) Thomas Jefferson
- Thomas Jefferson: A Life – Willard Sterne Randall
- Thomas Jefferson: Author of America – Christopher Hitchens
(4) James Madison
- James Madison- Richard Brookhiser
- James Madison – Garry Wills
(5) James Monroe
- James Monroe – Gary Hart
(6) John Quincy Adams
- John Quincy Adams – Robert Vincent Remini
- John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life – Paul C. Nagel
(7) Andrew Jackson
- American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House - Jon Meacham (Pulitzer Prize Winner 2009)
- Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times – H. W. Brands
(8) Martin Van Buren
- Martin Van Buren – Ted Widmer
(9) William Harrison
- William Henry Harrison – Gail Collins
(10) John Tyler
- John Tyler: The Accidental President – Edward P. Crapol
(11) James K. Polk
- Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America – Walter R. Borneman
(12) Zachary Taylor
- Zachary Taylor – John S.D. Eisenhower
(13) Millard Fillmore
(14) Franklin Pierce
- Franklin Pierce – Micheal F. Holt
(15) James Buchanan
- James Buchanan – Michael Burgan (Children’s)
(16) Abraham Lincoln
- Lincoln – David Herbert Donald
- Tried By War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief – James M. McPherson
(17) Andrew Johnson
- Andrew Johnson – Annette Gordon-Reed
(18) Ulysses S. Grant
- Grant: A Biography – William S. McFeely (Pulitzer Prize Winner 1982)
- Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph Over Adversity, 1822-1865 – Brooks D. Simpson
(19) Rutherford B. Hayes
- Facts About the Presidents – Joseph Nathan Kane
(20) James A. Garfield
- James A. Garfield – Ira M. Rutkow
(21) Chester A. Arthur
- Chester Alan Arthur – Zachary Karabell
(22, 24) Grover Cleveland
- Grover Cleveland: A Study in Courage – Allan Nevins (Pulitzer Prize Winner 1933)
(23) Benjamin Harrison
- Facts About the Presidents – Joseph Nathan Kane
(25) William McKinley
- William McKinley – Kevin Phillips
(26) Theodore Roosevelt
- The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt – Edmund Morris
- Theodore Rex – Edmund Morris
(27) William Taft
- Facts About the Presidents – Joseph Nathan Kane
(28) Woodrow Wilson
- Woodrow Wilson – Louis Auchincloss
- Woodrow Wilson - H. W. Brands
(29) Warren G. Harding
- Warren G. Harding – John W. Dean
(30) Calvin Coolidge
- Calvin Coolidge – David Greenberg
(31) Herbert Hoover
- The Life of Herbert Hoover – George H. Nash
(32) Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- FDR – Jean Howard Smith
- That Man: An Insider’s Portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt – Robert Jackson
(33) Harry S. Truman
- Harry S. Truman – Robert Dallek
- Truman – David McCullough
(34) Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Eisenhower – Stephen E. Ambrose
- Ike: An American Hero – Michael Korda
(35) John F. Kennedy
- A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House – Arthur M. Schlesinger
- An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963 – Robert Dallek
(36) Lyndon B. Johnson
- LBJ: Architect of American Ambition – Randall Bennet Woods
- The Years of Lyndon Johnson – Robert Caro
(37) Richard Nixon
- President Nixon: Alone in the White House – Richard Reeves
- Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full – Conrad M. Black
(38) Gerald Ford
- Time and Chance: Gerald Ford’s Appointment with History – James Cannon
- A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald R. Ford – Gerald R. Ford
(39) Jimmy Carter
- Jimmy Carter - Julian E. Zelizer
- Jimmy Carter: American Moralist – Kenneth Earl Morris
(40) Ronald Reagan
- Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan – Edmund Morris
- Reagan: A Life in Letters – edited by Kiron K. Skinner
(41) George Bush
- All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letter and Other Writings – George Bush
- George Bush: An Intimate Portrait – Fitzhugh Green
(42) Bill Clinton
- First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton – David Maraniss
- My Life – Bill Clinton
(43) George W. Bush
- Ambling into History: The Unlikely Odyssey of George W. Bush – Frank Bruni
- Decision Points – George W. Bush
(44) Barack Obama
- The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama – David Remnick
- Obama: From Promise to Power – David Mendell
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