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President & First Lady Challenge


I am challenging myself to read more non-fiction works and decided a great place to start would be with the Presidents and First Ladies.  This is an area that I have always been interested in but never took the time to read about.  So my goal is to read at least 1 book about each President and First Lady (where there are books as some First Ladies do not have anything written on them).  I'm going to use this page to keep track of my progress, links to reviews, other thoughts, and also provide reading ideas for anyone else who might be interested in reading about these people.  Also, I am not reading anything on the most recent presidents (Bush Sr. through Trump) because not enough time has passed (in my opinion) to look at their terms critically - but will at a later date.  I have posted images of the book covers for the books I have finished reading and if you click on the image it will take you to my review!

Current read:




Reading List:

George Washington
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

Mr. President
by Harlow Giles Unger - Completed 4/8/14

mr president

His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph Ellis - Completed 4/28/12 

his excellency

Becoming George Washington
by Stephen Yoch (Fiction) - Completed 12/15/15 

becoming george washington

George Washington's Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade
The Ascent of George Washington by John Ferling
George Washington: The Wonder of the Age by John Rhodehamel
Washington's Farewell by John Avlon
Washington's Spies by Alexander Rose
Washington's Circle by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler
In the Name of the Father by Francois Furstenburg
Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer

Martha Washington
Martha Washington: An American Life by Patricia Brady

Washington's Lady
by Nancy Moser (Fiction) - Completed 10/22/13

washingtons lady



John Adams
John Adams by David McCullough

First Family
by Joseph Ellis - Completed 10/17/11

first family

Descent from Glory: Four Generations of the John Adams Family by Paul C. Nagel
Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams by Joseph Ellis
John Adams: A Life by John Ferling

Abigail Adams
Dearest Friend by Lynne Withey
The Adams Women: Abigail and Louisa Adams, their Sisters and Daughters by Paul C. Nagel
Dear Abigail by Diane Jacobs
Abigail Adams by Woody Holton



Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson by R. B. Bernstein
American Sphinx by Joseph Ellis
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham

Jefferson's War
by Joseph Wheelan - Completed 7/24/12

jefferson's war

Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade
Thomas Jefferson: President and Philosopher by Jon Meacham

Martha Jefferson (died before Presidency)
My Thomas by Roberta Grimes (Fiction)
The Women Jefferson Loved by Virginia Scharff
Dear Companion: The Inner Life of Martha Jefferson by Kelly Joyce Neff (Fiction)



James Madison
James Madison by Richard Bookhiser

Election that Saved the Nation
by Chris DeRose - Completed 12/17/13 

founding rivals

Mr. & Mrs. Madison's War by Hugh Howard

Dolley Madison
A Perfect Union by Catherine Allgor - Completed 9/28/11 

a perfect union

Strength and Honor: The Life of Dolley Madison by Richard N. Cote



James Monroe (no NF on Elizabeth Monroe)
Founding Rivals: Madison vs. Monroe, the Bill or Rights and the Election that Saved the Nation by Chris DeRose - Completed 12/17/13 

founding rivals

The Last Founding Father by Harlow Unger



John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul Nagel - Completed 1/27/12 

jqa

Mr. Adams's Last Crusade: John Quincy Adams's Extraordinary Post-Presidential Life in Congress by Joseph Wheelan
The Lost Founding Father by William J. Cooper Jr.
John Quincy Adams by James Traub

Louisa Catherine Adams
Mrs. Adams in Winter by Michael O'Brien
Cannibals of the Heart by Jack Shepherd
Louisa Catherine by Margery Heffron



Andrew Jackson
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans by Brian Kilmeade
Jacksonland by Steve Inskeep
Andrew Jackson by H.W. Brands

Rachel Jackson
A Being So Gentle: The Frontier Love Story of Rachel and Andrew Jackson by Patricia Brady


Martin Van Buren (no NF on Hannah Van Buren)
Martin Van Buren by Ted Widmer

The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy by Michael J. Gerhardt - Completed 11/18/14 

the forgotten



William Henry Harrison (no NF on Anna Harrison)
Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy by Robert Owens
Goodbye, Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and his One Month Presidency by Keith Norris

The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy by Michael J. Gerhardt - Completed 11/18/14 

the forgotten



John Tyler (No NF on Julia Tyler - however there is HF)
John Tyler, the Accidental President by Edward Crapol

The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy by Michael J. Gerhardt - Completed 11/18/14 

the forgotten



James K. Polk
Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter Borneman - Completed 8/16/13

polk

A Country of Vast Designs by Robert Merry

Sarah Polk
Sarah Childress Polk by John R. Bumgarner - Completed 11/25/11 

scp



Zachary Taylor (No NF for Margaret Taylor)
Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest by K. Jack Bauer

The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy by Michael J. Gerhardt - Completed 11/18/14

the forgotten



Millard Fillmore (No NF for Abigail Fillmore)
The Remarkable Millard Fillmore by George Pendle

The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy by Michael J. Gerhardt - Completed 11/18/14

the forgotten



Franklin Pierce (No NF for Jane Pierce)
Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire's Favorite Son by Peter Walner

The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy by Michael J. Gerhardt - Completed 11/18/14

the forgotten



James Buchanan (Never married - niece, Harriet Lane, was his "First Lady"
James Buchanan by Jean Baker

Harriet Lane
Harriet Lane, America's First Lady by Milton Stern


Abraham Lincoln
Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O'Riley - Completed 10/27/11

killing lincoln

The Lincoln Conspiracy by Timothy O'Brien (Fiction) - Completed 10/29/12

the lincoln conspiracy

A. Lincoln: A Biography by Ronald C. White Jr.

Lincoln by David Herbert Donald - Completed 12/26/12 

lincoln

The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by Eric Foner
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Lincoln by Gore Vidal
Lincoln's Body Guard by T.J. Turner (Fiction)
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Mary Todd Lincoln
The Lincoln Conspiracy by Timothy O'Brien (Fiction) - Completed 10/29/12

the lincoln conspiracy

The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage by Daniel Mark Epstein
The Emancipator's Wife by Barbara Hambly (Fiction)
An Unlikely Friendship by Ann Rinaldi (Fiction)
Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln by Janis Cooke Newman (Fiction)
Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini (Fiction)
Mrs. Lincoln's Rival by Jennifer Chiaverini (Fiction)



Andrew Johnson (No NF for Eliza Johnson)
The Avenger Takes His Place by Howard Means


Ulysses S. Grant
Grant by Jean Edward Smith
Grant's Final Victory: Ulysses S Grant's Heroic Last Year by Charles Bracelen Flood
Grant by Ron Chernow
The Man Who Saved the Union by H.W. Brands

Julia Grant
Civil War Wives: The Lives and Times of Angelina Grimke Weld, Varina Howell Davis & Julia Dent Grant by Carol Berkin
Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule (Fiction) by Jennifer Chiaverini


Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B Hayes: Warrior and President by Ari Hoogenboom

Lucy Hayes
First Lady: The Life of Lucy Webb Hayes by Emily Apt Greer


James A Garfield
Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard - Completed 2/3/12

destiny of the republic

Lucretia Garfield
Crete and James by John Shaw



Chester A. Arthur (No NF for Ellen Arthur)
Gentleman Boss by Thomas C. Reeves

The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy by Michael J. Gerhardt - Completed 11/18/14

the forgotten



Grover Cleveland
An Honest President by H. P. Jeffers

The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy by Michael J. Gerhardt - Completed 11/18/14

the forgotten

A Secret Life by Charles Lachman

Frances Cleveland
Frank: The Life of Frances Folsom Cleveland by Annette Dunlap



Benjamin Harrison (No NF for Caroline Harrison)
Benjamin Harrison: Hoosier President by Harry Seivers

The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy by Michael J. Gerhardt - Completed 11/18/14

the forgotten



William McKinley (No NF for Ida McKinley)
The President and the Assassin by Scott Miller
The Triumph of William McKinley by Karl Rove


Theodore Roosevelt
The River of Doubt by Candice Millard
Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
The Autobiography of Theodore Roosevelt by Theodore Roosevelt

The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin - Completed 1/23/14

the bully pulpit

Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough
Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris

Edith Roosevelt
Edith Kermit Roosevelt: Portrait of A First Lady by Sylvia Morris



William H. Taft
William Howard Taft: Confident Peacemaker by David Burton

The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin - Completed 1/23/14

the bully pulpit

The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy by Michael J. Gerhardt - Completed 11/18/14

the forgotten

Helen Taft
Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era by Carl Anthony



Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson by John Milton Cooper Jr.

Wilson by A. Scott Berg - Completed 12/6/13

wilson

Ellen Axson Wilson and Edith Bolling Galt Wilson (1st & 2nd Wife of Wilson)
Ellen and Edith: Woodrow Wilson's First Ladies by Kristie Miller



Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding by John Dean

Florence Harding
Florence Harding: The First Lady, The Jazz Age, and the Death of America's Most Scandalous President by Carl Anthony
First Lady Florence Harding: Behind the Tragedy and Controversy by Katherine Sibley


Calvin Coolidge
Coolidge: An American Enigma by Robert Sobel

The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy by Michael J. Gerhardt - Completed 11/18/14

the forgotten

Grace Coolidge
Grace Cooldige: The People's Lady in Silent Cal's White House by Robert Ferrell



Herbert Hoover
The Life of Herbert Hoover: Imperfect Visionary by Kendrick Clements

Lou Hoover
Lou Henry Hoover: Activist First Lady by Nancy Young


Franklin Delano Roosevelt
FDR by Jean Smith
Traitor to His Class by H. W. Brands
Franklin and Winston by Jon Meacham
1944 by Jay Winik
The Defining Moment by Jonathan Alter
Franklin and Lucy by Joseph E. Persico

Eleanor Roosevelt
No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery by Russell Freedman
Loving Eleanor (Fiction) by Susan Wittig Albert


Harry Truman (No NF on Elizabeth Truman)
Truman by David McCullough
Harry S. Truman by Robert H. Ferrell
Harry S. Truman by Robert Dallek


Dwight D. Eisenhower
Going Home to Glory by David Eisenhower
Ike: An American Hero by Michael Korda
Ike & Kay (Fiction) by James MacManus

Mamie Eisenhower
Mrs. Ike: Portrait of a Marriage by Susen Eisenhower


John F. Kennedy
An Unfinished Life by Robert Dallek
Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy

Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly - Completed 11/20/12

killing kennedy

Jacqueline Kennedy
Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with JFK by Caroline Kennedy
America's Queen by Sarah Bradford



Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B Johnson: Portrait of a President by Robert Dallek
Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Lady Bird Johnson
Lady Bird: A Biography of Mrs. Johnson by Jan Russell
Lady Bird and Lyndon by Betty Boyd Caroli


Richard Nixon
Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full by Conrad Black
Being Nixon by Evan Thomas

Pat Nixon
Pat Nixon: The Untold Story by Julie Nixon Eisenhower


Gerald Ford (No NF on Elizabeth Ford)
Write it When I'm Gone by Thomas DeFrank


Jimmy Carter
White House Diary by Jimmy Carter
Prophet from Plains: Jimmy Carter and His Legacy by Jimmy Carter

The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy by Michael J. Gerhardt - Completed 11/18/14

the forgotten

Rosalynn Carter
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter: The Georgia Years:, 1924-1974 by E. Stanley Godbold Jr
Rosalynn Carter: Equal Partner in the White House by Scott Kaufmann



Ronald Reagan
An American Life by Ronald Reagan
Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan by Del Quentin Wibler
Killing Reagan by Bill O’Reilly

Nancy Reagan
My Turn: The Memoirs of Nancy Reagan by Nancy Reagan
Nancy: A Portrait of my Years with Nancy Reagan by Michael Deaver



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