I’m interested in people’s opinions on what the best books about presidents are, especially the lesser known presidents.
I’m sorry it’s not about one of the lesser-known presidents, but I really enjoyed Washington:The Indispensable Man by James Thomas Flexner.
Robert Caro has completed three volumes on the life of LBJ so far and the guy STILL hasn’t become President - I’m beginning to worry that Caro will die without even beginning to cover his term. However, I strongly recommend reading them - beautifully written and extremely revealing portrait of a complex man.
I second Robert Caro’s massive LBJ biography. It not only gives a portrait of the main, but also paints an extraordinary picture of how power really works in this country.
David McCullough’s biographies “Truman”, “John Adams” and “Mornings on Horseback” (about Teddy Roosevelt’s childhood and young adulthood) are good, as are Robert Remini’s books…his three book biography of Andrew Jackson, (“The Course of American Empire”, “The Course of American Freedom”, and “The Course of American Democracy”) and his “John Quincy Adams”. Also, although it’s not a biography as such, I’d recommend his “Martin Van Buren and the Making of the Democratic Party”.
I loved “The River of Doubt” by Candice Millard. It is an account of Teddy Roosevelt’s exploration of a tributary of the Amazon after he was president.
As a series I really like The American Presidents Series published by Times Books. They seem to be doing every president, though not in any order.
The books are assigned to major historians or to other famous names. They’re also all less than 200 pages each, long enough to give you a sense of the person’s history without getting bogged down in the ridiculous minutiae that the doorstop editions subject you to. The meat of the book is on the term in office, as it should be. I’ve found the quality varies, of course, but mostly from good to very good.
You can usually find them at half-price online. I’m going to get them all.
Stephan Ambrose’s three volume biiography of Richard Nixon is possibly the best.
Third vote for Robert Caro. An extremely well researched and insightful look, not only into the heart of LBJ, but also into the heart of American politics.
The last book in the series should come out in three to four years; which should give you just enough time to finish reading the first three books.
Another Robert Caro fan here. His writing is mind-boggling, superb; and LBJ himself? I’d heard stuff about him thru the years, but…unbelievable.