Best Presidential Books

Throughout history, there have been some fascinating people in the Oval Office. For some, the interesting parts of their journeys took place well before they were elected President; for others, life after they left Washington was worth examining. All in all, it's a very selective group of people that help the position of most powerful leader of the free world. Here is a list of the best Presidential books.

President Obama wrote this best seller while he was still a small-time Senator from Illinois. It must be a really great book because Barack Obama became President Obama only a few months after the book’s release. Did this have anything to do with Oprah Winfrey endorsing him? It doesn’t really matter.

The title of the book stems from the speech Obama delivered at the 2004 Democratic National Convention:

“It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores;…the hope of a millworker’s son who dare to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope.”

A message that's optimistic and important in any era.

This book about the 35th President of the United States chronicles the life of a man whose legacy was cut short by an assassin’s bullet. An Unfinished Life tells the tale of a man who was plagued by various chronic illnesses, but was intent on running the country to the best of his ability. Author Robert Dallek had access to medical records that were not previously released, and though he went into detail about certain parts of his medical history, he did not reveal everything. It’s good to know that there is still a certain amount of discretion in play, even so many years after JFK’s death.

Eland takes a whole new view on ranking the various presidential administrations and their unique success and failures. It is a “nonpartisan system of ranking that is based purely on strength of policies and adherences to the Founding Father’s guidelines for limited government.” No President gets credit for what it took for him to take office, only what he did once he was in office. Eland takes a staunch anti-war stance and feels there are always other alternatives.

This 1990 autobiography was released two years after President Reagan left office. He does a very good job of giving the reader a glimpse into what his life was like before he became President and certainly while he was in office. Starting with his birth in Tampico, Illinois, he details his life as an actor, his marriages and even his failed attempt at the Republican nomination in 1976. Though it only reached number eight on The New York Times bestsellers list, many reviewers thought it was an excellent depiction of Reagan’s life and legacy. A great reading companion for this book is I Love You, Ronnie by Nancy Reagan. This book contains the love letters that Nancy Reagan received from her husband, no matter where he was or what he was doing. A true American love story.

This is an interesting take on what it is like to be in the unique position of having been President of the United States. The book delves into relationships that were formed by rivals; Presidents that made appearances at family parties of said rivals. Advice that was given, bonds that were forged. How much of it is accurate? Only those in the “club” know for sure, but authors Duffy and Gibbs do an excellent job in their research and portrayal of a group of men that really did “rule the world.” It is truly an amazing club to be a part of and this book helps the reader get a taste of that experience.

This whimsical reflection of one of our most beloved leaders contains all sorts of quotes and observations made by President Truman such as “Being a president is like riding a tiger,” and “Another hectic day in the executive office. Saw a lot of customers. Hope they all left happy.” The book takes you into the private thoughts of a man as he ran an entire country. There are excerpts from speeches, diary entries and other personal anecdotes. There is nothing like a first-hand account to make you feel like you are right there in the Oval Office with the President.

Being President comes with the risk that a whole lot of people are going to want to kill you. Unfortunately, this has happened quite a few times over the course of our history. Vowell takes a trip around the United States to research the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley and James Garfield. Her unique take on her trip and what the emotional experience was like brings a whole new perspective on the topic. Definitely worth reading, as it is not your run-of-the-mill overview of who the killers were, their motivations, etc. Instead, Assassination Vacation portrays a much more interesting, nuanced and insightful view.

With all the subsequent books written by and about this most controversial president of our country, this particular one was written by Nixon before he became President. He speaks about six incidents that occurred at different times of his political career. Little did he know what was in store for him. Some of the events he speaks about, in no particular order, are President Eisenhower’s heart attack, which occurred in 1955 while Nixon was the Vice President. Then there was the ‘The Kitchen Debate’, which occurred in 1959. The Russians had set up a mock kitchen so those watching the debate would see how American citizens lived, even though the debate was taking place in Moscow. The Alger Hiss Case of 1948: Nixon was a member of the House of Representatives serving on the House Un-American Activities Committee. There were accusations against Alger Hiss, a United States Department of State official, that he was a communist spy. This actually proved to be true. Living through the Cold War must have been a genuinely fascinating and frightening experience for those under constant scrutiny.

Technically, there have been 44 Presidents, though some might argue the number is 43 because of Grover Cleveland, who is counted as both the 22nd and 24th President. In any event, for every President that has won an election, there have been those that have lost. Some revert to obscurity and some keep their names and lives quite relevant to the public. Originally written in 1943, this book focuses on the elections between 1842 and 1940. An updated version was published in 1966, which concentrated on the less victorious from elections in 1944-1964. Perhaps an even more current version would prove to be even more beneficial, but Stone’s book was really ahead of its time in terms of its content and ideas. We constantly have the ability to learn about sitting Presidents, but we never really know what happened to those that were left behind.

In honor of the 2016 Presidential election, we should include the first woman Democratic nominee for President. In Hillary Clinton's memoir Living History she gives you a glimpse into her early life and her life through her husband's White House years. It is also her chronicle of living with Bill Clinton, a more than thirty year adventure in love and politics. The book captures her survival of personal betrayal by her husband, the relentless partisan investigations and constant public scrutiny. This is a great book to get a peek into the woman who almost became America's first female President.