not a challenge, just a goal

[archersangel]

for a while now i've wanted to read a book on/about each of the US presidents. i had read a truman biography by david mccullough a few years ago & liked it. but had been not really "into" reading stuff about the rest of the presidents.

however, this year with my booklender (formally booksfree) want to read list getting shorter i decided to give it a go. the problem is that for the more obscure presidents they don't have anything if you just search by name, sometimes it was just a collection of speeches they did, & even with looking stuff up on amazon & then looking to see if they have it, i only have 15 titles so far.

that said, there are 3 US presidents i'm not interested in reading about (the best president ever reagan, bush sr. & jr.) so that is 3 less i have to look for.

i have the first one (about washington) on the to-be-shipped list but it's a "rare book" so it might be awhile before i get it.

and it might take me longer that a year to do this.

an asterisk means that i recommend it.


1 the life of george washington by john marshall
2 passionate sage: the character and legacy of john adams by joseph j. ellis
3 autobiography of thomas jefferson
4 james madison: a life reconsidered by lynne cheney
5 the last founding father: james monroe and a nation's call to greatness by harlow giles unger*
6 john quincy adams by harlow giles unger*
7 andrew jackson: his life and times by by h. w. srands
8 presidents: every question qnswered by carter smith*
9 see 8
10 accidental presidents: eight men who changed america by jared cohen
11 a country of vast designs: james k. polk, the mexican war and the conquest of the american continent by robert w. merry
12 see 8
13 see 10
14 see 8
15 the worst president-the story of james buchanan by garry boulard
16 abraham lincoln: a life by thomas keneally*
17 see 10
18 personal memoirs of u. s. grant by ulysses s. grant
19 see 8
20 destiny of the republic: a tale of madness, medicine and the murder of a president by candice millard
21 the unexpected president: the life and times of chester a. arthur scott s. greenberger
22 a secret life: the lies and scandals of president grover cleveland by charles lachman
23 see 8
24 (same as 22)
25 the triumph of william mckinley: why the election of 1896 still matters by karl rove
26 1912: wilson, roosevelt, taft and debs -the election that changed the country by james chace
27 see 26
28 see 26
29 see 8
30 quotable calvin coolidge by peter hannaford
31 herbert hoover in the white house: the ordeal of the presidency by charles rappleye
32 his final battle: the lasts months of franklin roosevelt by joseph lelyveld
33 truman by david mccullough*
34 the supreme commander: the war years of dwight d. eisenhower by stephen e. ambrose
35 kennedy: the classic biography by ted sorensen
36 the triumph and tragedy of lyndon johnson: the white house years by joseph a. califano
37 one man against the world: the tragedy of richard nixon by tim weiner
38 see 8
39 a full life: reflections at ninety by jimmy carter
40-not reading one on this guy
41-not reading one on this guy
42 my life: the presidential years by bill clinton
43-not reading one on this guy
44 hopes and dreams: the story of barack obama by steve dougherty