1
Washington: A Life
Author: Ron Chernow Rating: 10/10 would read again Pages: 822 Something I learned: Washington’s dentures were actually made from slaves teeth, not wood. Date Read: May 2020
4
James Madison
Author: Richard Brookhiser Rating: 6/10 (book didn’t cover Madison’s character in depth) Pages: 250 Something I learned: Doctors offered Madison medicine to prolong his life so he could die on July 4th like his two predecessors and successor. He declined the medicine and died on June 28th. Date Read: January 2021
7
The Life of Andrew Jackson
Author: Robert Remini Rating: 5/10 - Jackson is a tough read in general. I also didn’t love this book bc it wasn’t always chronological Pages: 360 Something I learned: While president Jackson was gifted “The Big Cheese” - a literal 1400 pound block of cheddar cheese Date Read: February 2022
10
President Without a Party: The Life of John Tyler
Author: Christopher Leahy Rating: 7/10 - Good writing just a little confusing because the book wasn’t always chronological Pages: 414 Something I learned: Tyler had 15 children and still has a living grandson to this day!! His grandson is 93 (update his grandson died in May 2025) Date Read: September 2022
13
Millard Fillmore
Author: Paul Finkelman Rating: 5/10 Pages: 137 Something I learned: Basically that he sucked.. a quote that wraps it up: "Fillmore was always on the wrong side of the moral and political issues of the age: immigration, religious toleration, equality, and most of all, slavery" Date Read: November 2022
2
John Adams
Author: David McCullough Rating: 8.5/10 - McCullough is an incredible biographer but John Adams is not the most interesting subject Pages: 651 Something I learned: Adams & Jefferson, lifelong friends, died on the same day July 4,1826.50th anniversary of the United States Date Read: December 2020
5
James Monroe: A Life
Author: Tim McGrath Rating: 8/10 Pages: 577 Something I learned: In his first U.S tour as president, Monroe toured a school for the deaf. The founders of the school added the word "president" to their lexicon. The sign is a nod to the hat Monroe wore on his tour. Date Read: December 2021
8
Martin Van Buren
Author: Ted Widmer Rating: 7/10 - short but was an interesting and funny read! Pages: 172 Something I learned: Martin Van Buren’s lasting legacy is his contribution to the English language - popularizing the phrase “ok” which was a tribute to his hometown of Old Kinderhook, New York Date Read: March 2022
11
Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America
Author: William Borneman Rating: 7/10 - Good writing but focused on the events that happened during his presidency rather than his character Pages: 359 Something I learned: Polk’s presidency saw the U.S almost double with the acquisition of Texas, Oregon territory, and California territory Date Read: October 2022
14
Franklin Pierce
Author: Peter Wallner Rating: 7/10 for the first book and 4/10 for the second - the books were comprehensive but the subject wasn’t great Pages: 637 (258 1st book & 379 2nd book) Something I learned: Pierce’s bestie was the American novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Date Read: January 2023
3
Jefferson: A Great American’s Life and Ideas (Abridged)
Author: Saul K Padover. Rating: 8/10 Pages: 185 Something I learned: Jefferson was a great farmer and helped popularize many foods in the US including tomatoes which, at the time, Americans believed to be poisonous. Date Read: December 2020
6
John Quincy Adams
Author: Harlow Giles Unger Rating: 9/10 Pages: 313 Something I learned: The Gag Rule (1836) originates from Quincy Adams saying “Am I gagged or am I not?” after being banned from saying the word “slavery” on the House floor Date Read: January 2022
9
Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer, William Henry Harrison and the Origin of the American Indian Policy
Author: Robert Owens Rating: 2/10 was super dry Pages: 250 Something I learned: A quote I liked summarizing a president who exemplifies America and all it’s flaws “The student of history's challenge, it seems, is to neither praise nor bury Caesar but simply to try to understand him” Date Read: April 2022
12
Zachary Taylor
Author: John Eisenhower (President Eisenhower’s son!) Rating: 8/10 Pages: 141 Something I learned: Zachary Taylor was the first to use the term “First Lady” in his 1849 eulogy on the death of Dolley Madison Date Read: October 2022
15
James Buchanan
Author: Jean Baker Rating: 7/10 and props to the first woman author in this series! Pages: 152 Something I learned: Buchanan was the only president who was a lifelong bachelor. There was and is historical speculation that he had a lifelong romantic relationship with William Rufus King. Unfortunately none of their decades worth of correspondence remains as the families of both Buchanan and King burned all their letters to each other. Date Read: January 2023
16
LINCOLN
Author: David Herbert Donald Rating: 9/10 Pages: 599 Something I learned: Lincoln faced an assassination conspiracy on his way to Washington after being elected president. He ditched his tall hat and wore a disguise on his train from Baltimore to DC to avoid the assassin Date Read: January 2023
17
Andrew Johnson
Author: Hans Trefousse Rating: 3/10 Pages: 379 Something I learned: Johnson was drunk at Lincoln’s second inauguration and it left him with a bed reputation throughout his presidency Date Read: February 2023
18
GRANT
Author: Ron Chernow Rating: 9.9/10 Pages: 959 Something I learned: A quote that stuck with me “By backing radical Reconstruction as best he could, Grant made a greater effort to secure the constitutional rights of black Americans than any other president between Lincoln and Lyndon B. Johnson.” Date Read: April 2023
19
Rutherford B. Hayes
Author: Hans Trefousse Rating: 7/10 Pages: 150 Something I learned: The election of 1876 (when Hayes was elected) was very similar to the 2000 election of Bush. Both presidents lost the popular vote, Florida played a crucial role, and the Supreme Court had to be involved Date Read: July 2023
20
Destiny of the Republic James Garfield
Author: Candice Millard (second female author in the series) Rating: 10/10 Pages: 301 Something I learned: In an effort to save Garfield (who was assassinated) Alexander Graham Bell invented the metal detector to try and find the bullet lodged in Garfield’s back. Date Read: July 2023
21
The Unexpected President: The Life and times of Chester A. Arthur
Author: Scott Greenberger Rating: 4/10 Pages: 244 Something I learned: Arthur frequently wrote and received letters from some random woman, Julia Sand, who gave him political advice throughout his presidency. Date Read: September 2023
22 & 24
An Honest President: The Life and Presidencies of Grover Cleveland
Author: H. Paul Jeffers Rating: 6.5/10 Pages: 364 Something I learned: During Cleveland’s presidential race, his opponent uncovered that Cleveland had a child out of wedlock, which was known as the “Halpin scandal”. He still won the election, so slay. Date Read: November 2023
23
The Presidency of Benjamin Harrison
Author: Homer Socolofsky Rating: 2/10 (literally a textbook) Pages: 208 Something I learned: Six new states were admitted into the Union during Harrison’s presidency, which is the largest concentration of new states for any administration Date Read: February 2024
25
The President and the Assassin William McKinley
Author: Scott Miller Rating: 8/10 (read like a novel!) Pages: 350 Something I learned: I guess I just learned that anarchy was a big thing during the turn of the century. McKinley was shot by anarchist, Leon Czolgosz Date Read: April 2024