Off the top of my head, I’m thinking we need new and substantial books on Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and Andrew Jackson.
Not sure it’d be very salacious but Taft has a hell of a bio.
The Bully Pulpit covers Taft quite extensively. As I recall, it more about his pre-Presidential days so not exactly a definitive book about his time in the White House (although his presidency is certainly covered).
I wouldn’t be surprised if Taft has a handful of “definitive” books written about him, much like all the presidents really, but part of what makes Taft so interesting is his POST Presidential career. Also he actually did a lot of the stuff that Teddy Roosevelt gets credit for during his presidency.
Reagan can got to hell where he belongs. I’d go along with Carter. Jackson seems thoroughly covered already.
OK, they’re not definitive. Better than that: they’re short. I really like the
American Presidents Series.
They’re up to 43 books now. I’ve read at least half, and they have uniformly been excellent and very readable summaries of presidential careers, with some backstory for context.
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Regardless of your personal opinion of Reagan, there really is a shortage of books about him. He was incredibly influential.
So was John Wilkes Booth.
Not really. The assassination certainly changed history but Booth himself isn’t notable.
Which is what I meant.
THANK YOU. I’m tired of the praise heaped on this doddering idiot who began the inexorable tearing down of what little social safety nets there were in order to feed a relentless military buildup and to cheerlead insatiable corporate greed.
No one wants another Reagan is a God or Reagan was Satan book.
I want a book written by scholars. It’s been 40 years.
I think a nice fat hardcover, extreme close up on the frontispiece, big block lettered title reading McKINLEY book would be worth looking into. The guy did usher in America’s colonial age with a least remembered war. America’s first forays onto the world stage would be worth a definitive narrative. Most people only remember McKinley as a fat President who got shot at a world’s fair, if they remember him at all.