Presidential Biographies

[capnamerca 572]

I want to read at least one biography about each of our presidents; I've come to realize that I don't know NEARLY enough about our own history here in America. Also, I'm going to keep them and build a library for my kids (which I'm certain that they'll never read, but a man can dream). Anyone have a favorite that I should start with?

[capnamerca 572]

Starting with the Chernow books on GW and Grant, just based on Amazon rankings, and the fact that I've heard of Chernow.

[Chad Fuck 17788]

I'm in.  I have a friend who's doing this as a way to learn more amount American history.  Here are his suggestions so far:

 

[Chad Fuck 17788]

He said for several there isn't a lot of good scholarship, so he falls back on the "American Presidents" series.

A couple more.

Interested to see what others have found.

For the record, I haven't read all of these.  They're in a list I'm trying to get through.

[capnamerca 572]

Awesome, thanks for this. I got Washington in the mail yesterday, and it's a legit tome. I'm looking forward to reading it, though.

[Chad Fuck 17788]

On 12/18/2020 at 8:26 AM, capnamerca said:

Awesome, thanks for this. I got Washington in the mail yesterday, and it's a legit tome. I'm looking forward to reading it, though.

Word.  

Be sure to let us know what you think.  

[capnamerca 572]

4 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

Word.  

Be sure to let us know what you think.  

Already learning all kinds of shit (naturally). Dude lived HARD growing up, legit mountain man (cue "twelve stories high made of radiation").

[Guest Lobo]

Read anything by (H.W.) Bill Brands.  I'm biased since he's a Longhorn, but he is an absolutely riveting storyteller.  He's written on Grant, Reagan, Truman, Lincoln, Jackson, Wilson, LBJ, and Eisenhower.  He typically sets the narrative inside the second biggest test/tribulation of that President and then through kind of a "middle-out" approach, fleshes out the rest of what happened in America during that era.  Although he's got two Pulitzer finalist nominations, he remains one of the most underrated writers in America.  

I have a hard time getting through biographies, even ones that do a great job of giving you historical insights into a country.  But Brands is just such a gifted storyteller.  He could have written fiction and been just as successful.  

[abuelo gringo 321]

3 hours ago, Lobo said:

Read anything by (H.W.) Bill Brands.  I'm biased since he's a Longhorn, but he is an absolutely riveting storyteller.  He's written on Grant, Reagan, Truman, Lincoln, Jackson, Wilson, LBJ, and Eisenhower.  He typically sets the narrative inside the second biggest test/tribulation of that President and then through kind of a "middle-out" approach, fleshes out the rest of what happened in America during that era.  Although he's got two Pulitzer finalist nominations, he remains one of the most underrated writers in America.  

I have a hard time getting through biographies, even ones that do a great job of giving you historical insights into a country.  But Brands is just such a gifted storyteller.  He could have written fiction and been just as successful.  

Just finished his The Zealot and the Emancipator about John Brown and Lincoln.  He reads very easy. Will have to read more of his.

Edited December 23, 2020 by abuelo gringo

[capnamerca 572]

On 12/23/2020 at 8:57 AM, Lobo said:

Read anything by (H.W.) Bill Brands.  I'm biased since he's a Longhorn, but he is an absolutely riveting storyteller.  He's written on Grant, Reagan, Truman, Lincoln, Jackson, Wilson, LBJ, and Eisenhower.  He typically sets the narrative inside the second biggest test/tribulation of that President and then through kind of a "middle-out" approach, fleshes out the rest of what happened in America during that era.  Although he's got two Pulitzer finalist nominations, he remains one of the most underrated writers in America.  

I have a hard time getting through biographies, even ones that do a great job of giving you historical insights into a country.  But Brands is just such a gifted storyteller.  He could have written fiction and been just as successful.  

Great rec; appreciate it.

 

I'm ~100 pages into Washington. Holy fuck was he a shitty young General. I had no idea that he quite literally started the French and Indian (or Seven Years' War). Yeah, it war would undoubtedly broken out eventually anyway, but he straight up bull-in-a-china-shopped his negotiations and got a couple hundred Virginians killed in the process. But no doubt dude understood people, the value of land, and the value of sucking up to one's social superiors.

[WillUSAF 226]

I live in Mentor, OH the home of Pres Garfield. At his home there is an outlaying building that has a ton of info and artifacts from his life. This is an excellent book about him:

 

[idahorn 26]

Abraham Lincoln: A Life  by Burlingame,

[NIUHuskies 504]

 

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