The list of Presidential biographies to read

If you love history and visiting historical places then consider reading presidential biographies. My husband has been working his way through them. This post has links that will bring you to the Amazon store. That is if you want the book right away. If you aren’t in a hurry, it’s also a handy post to reference when you perusing the history section of any new or used book store or the library.

My husband has gotten audible versions for some of these books. He listens to books in the car, on his walks and when hiking alone. Many of the Amazon links below offer audible versions as well as Kindle.

My husband discovered that the biographies overlap in time. As you read the Presidents you will get different perspectives of the times they lived in.

Here are the books my husband selected to read. That is, after he read the reviews and all.

1. George Washington – His Excellency George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis
2. John Adams – John Adams by David McCullough
3. Thomas Jefferson – Thomas Jefferson by R.B. Bernstein
4. James Madison – The Last of the Fathers: James Madison & The Republic Legacy by Drew R. McCoy
5. James Monroe – The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon
6. John Quincy Adams – John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul C. Nagel
7. Andrew Jackson – Andrew Jackson by H.W. Brands
8. Martin Van Buren – The Romantic Age of American Politics by John Niven
9. William Henry Harrison – Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time by Freeman Cleaves
10. John Tyler – Champion of the Old South by Oliver P. Chitwood
11. James Polk – A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, The Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent by Robert W. Merry
12. Zachary Taylor – Zachary Taylor by John S.D. Eisenhower and Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest by K. Jack Baurer
13. Millard Fillmore – Millard Fillmore: Biography of a President by Robert J. Rayback
14. Franklin Pierce – Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire’s Favorite Son and Martyr for the Union both by Peter A. Wallner
15. James Buchanan – President James Buchanan: A Biography by Philip S. Klein
16. Abraham Lincoln – Lincoln by David Herbert Donald
    • My husband has listened to this twice.
17. Andrew Johnson – Andrew Johnson: A Biography by Hans L. Trefousse
18. Ulysses S. Grant – American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant by Ronald C. White and Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant by Ronald C. White
19. Rutherford B. Hayes – Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President by Ari Hoogenboom
20. James Garfield – President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier by C.W. Goodyear
21. Chester Arthur – Gentleman Boss: The Life and Times of Chester Alan Arthur by Thomas Reeves
    • This is where he as at in his reading. I will update this post when he starts a new book!
22. Grover Cleveland –
23. Benjamin Harrison –
24. Grover Cleveland
25. William McKinley
26. Teddy Roosevelt
27. William Howard Taft 
28. Woodrow Wilson
29. Warren G. Harding
30. Calvin Coolidge
31. Herbert Hoover
32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
33. Harry S Truman
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower
35. John Kennedy
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
37. Richard Nixon
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. Jimmy Carter
40. Ronald Reagan
41. George H.W. Bush
42. William Clinton
43. George W. Bush
44. Barack Obama
45. Donald Trump
46. Joe Biden
47. Donald Trump

Have a favorite presidential biography? Share it in the comments!