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The Best Presidential Biographies For History Buffs

Dig into 46 top-notch biographies—one for each American president.

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The office of the American presidency is one of the most storied in history, equaling that of older monarchies in both richness and scope. For nearly 250 years, the residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have inspired admiration, provoked outrage—and everything in between—both at home and abroad.

In light of the current political climate, we're interested in our nation's leaders more than ever. In these uncertain times, perhaps the best way to understand our future is to first understand our past—and how we got here. Whether you're a history buff or simply a curious reader, you can find valuable insight in the best presidential biographies. With their comprehensiveness and readability, they'll be the literary torchlights for your journey through history.

Related: The Best Biographies and Memoirs for Every Kind of Reader  

1) George Washington

By James Thomas Flexner

Flexner’s award-winning multivolume series humanizes a man who has reached almost mythic status in the American psyche. His nimble and dramatic prose paints a complex portrait of a novice who set the standard, a conflicted man of unshakeable purpose, who made his mark in history as few ever have.

2) John Adams

By David McCullough

McCullough has made a name for himself as an epic chronicler of great lives, and he lives up to his reputation in this magisterial biography of Adams, the Founding Father who could never quite escape the shadow of the man who preceded him. From his surprising role in the Boston Massacre to inaugurating the vice presidency, America’s second president had a first row seat to its birth and trial by fire, here told by McCullough with all the depth and sweep befitting.

3) Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

By Jon Meacham

Remembered as much for his philosophy as his politics, Jefferson is a fitting subject for the cerebrally-minded Meacham, who here weaves the story of a complicated polymath who Declared Independence and Purchased Louisiana, shaping his country in ways literal and figurative.

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4) James Madison

James Madison: A Life Reconsidered

By Lynne Cheney

The wife of former wartime VP Dick Cheney, Lynne observes the life of the first wartime president of what was now officially the United States of America. Briskly-paced and heavily researched, the author nimbly guides readers through Madison’s tumults and triumphs, from authoring the Constitution to seeing the White House burned down.

5) James Monroe

The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness

By Harlow Giles Unger

As Monroe shepherded the United States through a period where it began to assert itself as a regional power, Unger shepherds his audience through this riveting account of a transitional phase in American history and the key founding figure who charted its new course.

6) John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams: American Visionary,

The son of John and Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams’ presidency might be of particular interest given our most recent election, as he was both America’s first Commander-in-Chief to run as part of a familial dynasty, and its first to win an election despite losing the popular vote. In this illuminating biography, Fred Kaplan reevaluates the life of this son of American royalty, making a case for why he was a more consequential president than often given credit for.

7) Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times

By H.W. Brands

Praised and reviled, but never ignored, Jackson was an American original, and Brands does him due service in this meticulously researched recounting of his life. From an orphanage to the Oval Office, from his battles with bankers to the Trail of Tears, Jackson and his outsized persona of a “tough guy” fighting on behalf of the common man against a “corrupt establishment” are as relevant today as they have ever been.

8) Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren

By Ted Widmer

An early sign of Americans’ tendency to follow up two-term presidents with their opposites, Martin Van Buren was everything Andrew Jackson was not: polished, deliberate, multilingual and politically groomed. Clinton White House veteran Ted Widmer is an appropriate choice to look back on the life and career of this most accomplished of figures, who nonetheless found himself under siege from all sides once he reached the peak.

9) William Henry Harrison

Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time

By Freeman Cleaves

America’s shortest-serving president had a nonetheless fascinating life, done justice here by Freeman Cleaves. Running apolitically on his credentials as a war hero, Harrison helped set the modern template for a personally popular “non-ideological” figure to campaign for high office as a “problem solver.” His untimely death only a month into his term has rendered him somewhat of an enigma among presidents, and Cleaves explores this fertile ground with a historian’s eye and a writer’s flourish.

10) John Tyler

By Gary May

Dubbed “His Accidency” by his detractors in Congress, then-Vice President John Tyler became the first American to assume the presidency without ever being elected to that office, quickly seizing power amidst constitutional uncertainty. Noted secret government historian Gary May plumbs the depths of history to detail the hushed negotiations and go-it-alone diplomacy of this renegade president who circumvented congress in an effort to bring Texas into the Union.

11) James K. Polk

Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America

By Walter R. Borneman

Few presidents have seen their political careers careen from low to high as often as Polk, who went from Speaker of the House to a twice-defeated gubernatorial candidate before ending up in the highest office in the land. Not often remembered in accordance with his impact, Borneman leaves no stone unturned in this revealing portrait of a man whose work culminated in sweeping victory in the Mexican-American War.

12) Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest

By K. Jack Bauer

Bauer delves deep into the mind of the enigmatic 12th president, who could confound those around him with positions that defied his origins. An anti-slavery southerner who nonetheless himself held slaves, Taylor vied to use the force of his war hero status to hold the Union together in a time of impending civil war, only be to felled by disease in the second year of his presidency.

13) Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore: Biography of a President

By Robert J. Rayback

Fillmore was the last president to come out of the Whig Party, which, while having long since faded into history, was a major force in American politics for decades. Rayback deftly weaves together the life of President Fillmore, the party’s last contribution to America’s highest office, with the looming theme of political upheaval that gripped the country in the years before the Civil War.

14) Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire’s Favorite Son and Franklin Pierce: Martyr for the Union

By Peter A. Wallner

Even the worst of presidents can make for fascinating subject matter, and Pierce is frequently ranked near the bottom by presidential historians. In his two-volume biography Peter Wallner gamely makes an effort to rehabilitate his subject’s military career from longtime charges of cowardice, and he starkly illuminates the political circumstances and personal failures that Pierce struggled with as the nation drifted ever-further toward a rupture point.

15) James Buchanan

President James Buchanan: A Biography

By Philip S. Klein

Another poorly-ranked president is given his day in Philip Klein’s account of backroom dealings and proverbial smoke-filled rooms as he illustrates that Buchanan’s “political animal” nature blinded him to the necessity of turning down the heat in a culture war that was rapidly reaching a boil. Supporting the expansion of slave territory and the infamous Dredd Scott decision because he believed they helped his political brand, Buchanan’s quest for personal glory in his single term would visit fateful consequences upon his nation for decades to come.

16) Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln Reconsidered

By David Herbert Donald

From humble beginnings to Mount Rushmore, few lives are as quintessentially American as that of the 16th president. Amongst the countless books on Lincoln’s life, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Herbert Donald’s stands out for its sheer sweep – this is at once a grand historical epic and a personal tale of inspiration and tragedy. Readers will come away with an appreciation not just for Lincoln’s wartime leadership but for the struggles he endured at home, even as the very idea of the United States itself hung in the balance.

RELATED: 10 Civil War Books That Inform and Entertain  

17) Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson

By Hans L. Trefousse

It is no coincidence that some of the worst-remembered presidents are those who immediately preceded and followed Honest Abe; standing next to a giant, anyone could look small. But Johnson holds the distinction of being one of only two American presidents to ever be impeached, andstep-by-step, Hans Trefousse lays out how the out-of-his-element Johnson was both overridden by Congress and overwhelmed by the job.

18) Ulysses S. Grant

Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant

By Ulysses Grant

A military memoir is a proper vehicle for a figure revered less for his presidency and more for his battlefield heroics. With this account of his time in the Mexican-American War and his successful leadership of the Union Army to victory in the Civil War, Grant shows himself to be a compelling writer in his own right. Crisp and to-the-point prose offers an inside look at battle strategy like few other sources, and Grant’s personal insights into each wars’ merits make for an intriguing read.

RELATED: True Stories About America's Military Heroes  

19) Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President

By Ari Hoogenboom

Hayes reasserted presidential power after Congress had taken charge during the two prior presidencies, and for this Ari Hoogenboom makes his case to reassert Hayes’ position in the presidential canon. Though often seen as ineffectual, Hoogenboom recontextualizes his subject’s accomplishments in light of how far the powers of the presidency had fallen, and compellingly relates Hayes’ personal push for progressive policies on a host of issues from public education to prison reform.

20) James A. Garfield

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

By Candice Millard

The title of this account of Garfield’s life conjures images of plot and intrigue in the mind of the reader. So it should, for Candice Millard has written a biography that often reads like a thriller, breathless as it is in retelling the story of a man who rose from poverty to prominence, only to be felled by an assassin’s bullet less than a year after his election. But the bullet itself is only part of the plot–Millard then leads us through a whirlwind of experimental treatments and medical malpractice, as the last days of the president’s life play out like an episode of ER.

21) Chester A. Arthur

Gentleman Boss: The Life of Chester Alan Arthur

By Thomas C. Reeves

Arthur’s presidency was memorable for its quiet confidence, and Arthur himself for vastly surpassing expectations. Thomas Reeves charts the court of a man of limited ambition who was suddenly thrust into power and had to sink or swim. Under his steady leadership the United States suffered no major crises, and upon his retirement he was lauded in a bipartisan way that is almost impossible to imagine today.

22) Grover Cleveland

The Forgotten Conservative: Rediscovering Grover Cleveland

By John Pafford

Most famous for being the only president to be elected on non-consecutive occasions, John Pafford’s work reminds us that Grover Cleveland was much more than a historical anomaly. Cleveland felt a strong calling to “try to do right,” and in his first term he took on political corruption and nepotism in a way many would say is sorely needed in modern America.

23) Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison

By Charles W. Calhoun

Interrupting the presidencies of the popular Grover Cleveland (who actually defeated him in the popular vote), Benjamin Harrison was a political savant. Calhoun skillfully lays out how this grandson of America’s 9th president played the system like a fiddle, ousting the more popular Cleveland in an electoral college landslide, and then worked with congress to accomplish much in their limited time with Republican control, including passing the crucial Sherman Antitrust Act that established the baseline with which we break-up monopolies to this day.

24) Grover Cleveland

An Honest President: The Life and Times of Grover Cleveland

By H.P. Jeffers

Everything old was new again as Grover Cleveland reassumed the presidency after a four year absence. He picked up where he left off in his crusade for justice and honesty in political life, and it is this quality of integrity that H.P. Jeffers returns to again and again in this biography, which takes the more personal path of examining how Cleveland’s character shaped his presidency.

25) William McKinley

The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century

By Scott Miller

Miller’s expansive account of the 25th president’s life reads almost like a romance-era thriller. McKinley is both a swashbuckling figure, instigating and achieving sweeping victory for America in the Spanish American War, and a tragic one, cut down shortly after winning reelection. Miller weaves into this epic the story of his assassin, Leon Czolgosz, a large figure in his own right in anarchist history.

26) Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt Series

By Edmund Morris

Selected in its entirety by the Modern Library as one of the Best 100 Nonfiction Books of All Time, Morris’ three-volume look at “Teddy’s” life is, like its subject, the stuff of legend. Combining the accuracy of a historical detective with the literary verve of a master dramatist, Morris cruises through the extraordinary life of this politician, progressive, adventurer, explorer and, of course, president.

27) William Howard Taft

The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism

By Doris Kearns Goodwin

In the crowded field of presidential historians, Doris Kearns Goodwin is in a category all her own. Here she sets her subject’s presidency on not just his own terms, but as part of a titanic battle for the very soul of America, as Taft wages a brutal political war against his one-time friend Theodore Roosevelt. At issue was the widening wealth gap, corporate resistance to regulation, and a muckraking press. Readers need not be forgiven for seeing resemblances to their own time.

28) Woodrow Wilson

By A. Scott Berg

For this comprehensive look at one of the most consequential presidents America has ever seen, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Berg was the first to gain access to many primary source documents related to Wilson’s life. Those documents help Berg take readers on a breathless ride through the birth of America as an international power, as Wilson guides the nation through the pivotal role it played in what was a war unlike any seen in human history to that point in time.

29) Warren G. Harding

Warren G. Harding

By John W. Dean and Arthur M. Schlesinger

This unique writing pair (Schlesinger a revered historian and public intellectual, Dean an infamous figure from the Watergate-era Nixon White House) combine to offer a clear and concise look at the breakdown of a president’s public image. Popular upon his death, Warren Harding’s reputation took a posthumous plummet when the tawdry details of both his political and private activities became public. Few know about such things at the presidential level as well as Dean.

30) Calvin Coolidge

By Amity Shlaes

Shlaes gives us an even-handed look at the controversial Coolidge. Viewed by some as an upstanding champion of up-by-your-bootstraps Americanism, and by others as a cold-hearted worshipper of capital; whichever side of the debate you may fall on (or if this is your first forage into it) Coolidge remains an intriguing figure, as Shlaes’ New York Times bestseller here proves.

31) Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover in the White House: The Ordeal of the Presidency

By Charles Rappleye

A successful businessman who presided over the worst economic crisis in American history, Hoover is somewhat of an enigma. Charles Rappleye gamely dives into the life and mind of this complicated figure, who was both ambitious and timid, personally optimistic and publicly dour, and dismissed as “CEO” by American shareholders after only a single term.

32) Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox

By James MacGregor Burns

An epic presidency (Roosevelt remains the only man ever elected to the office more than twice; he won it four times) gets the epic treatment it deserves from James MacGregor Burns in this Pulitzer Prize-winning two-volume biography. 

From his beginnings on the New York political scene to his becoming the most consequential figure on earth during World War II, Burns paints an endlessly captivating portrait of Roosevelt the intellectual, inspirer, warrior and even humorist.

Related: 10 Thought-Provoking Books About Leadership

33) Harry S. Truman

A man as underestimated as perhaps any in American history, “Give ‘em Hell” Harry today gets his due from one of the foremost historians of our time. McCullough thrills his readers with all the trials and tribulations of a bookish man who found himself at the heart of so many epochal events it boggles the mind. The end of World War II, the decision to use the atomic bomb, McCarthyism, the Korean War – McCullough conducts this concert of history with the expertise of a true maestro.

34) Dwight D. Eisenhower

Eisenhower: A Life

By Paul Johnson

“I like Ike” was Dwight Eisenhower’s election slogan, and it remains an apt one for a president who has remained popular in the public mind over a half century after leaving office. In this succinct biography Paul Johnson hits all the major beats of Ike’s life, from his modest Kansas upbringing to the shores of Normandy Beach, all the way up to the gates of the White House itself.

35) John F. Kennedy

John Kennedy

First published before his election to the presidency, James MacGregor Burns’ biography of the ‘up and coming’ congressman from Massachusetts gets its spot on this list because of the uniquely personal relation of the author to his subject. Burns and Kennedy were close friends, and the president-to-be granted him unprecedented interviews and access to both himself and the entire Kennedy clan. JFK was and remains a celebritized figure in our national consciousness, and so it is worthy to look at the more personal side of him revealed to Burns here.

36) Lyndon Baines Johnson

Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream

Goodwin makes a return to this list to chronicle the peaks and valleys of LBJ, to whom she was both a confidante and White House employee. She mines this relationship to offer frank insights into and eyewitness play-by-play of the life of a man whose domestic achievements of Medicare and the Civil/Votings Rights Acts were ultimately overshadowed by his failure in the Vietnam War, resulting in the almost unfathomable fall from winning one of the greatest landslide victories in presidential history to being drummed out of his own party’s primary race just four years later.

Being Nixon: A Man Divided

By Evan Thomas

This was the age of upheaval, and the political career of Richard Nixon waxed and waned with the times in true rollercoaster fashion. Thomas expertly guides us through Nixon’s early triumphs as Ike’s vice president through his nail-biting loss to JFK, from the misery of his defeat in a California gubernatorial bid to his shocking comeback to the presidency and landslide reelection, and finally, of course, to the most infamous moment of this remarkable life, as he becomes the first, and only president to ever resign from office.

RELATED: 8 Revealing Books About Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal  

38) Gerald R. Ford

Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life

By James Cannon and Scott Cannon

The stunning series of events that led Gerald Ford’s elevation to the presidency (the resignations of Vice President Agnew and then President Nixon) sets the stage for the Cannons’ attempt to rehabilitate the image of an “accidental president” often mocked for being in over his head. The authors make a compelling case that the humble and honest Ford was exactly the figure America needed to follow the deception and corruption of the Nixon years, even if Americans did not at the time realize it.

39) James Earl Carter

The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter’s Journey Beyond the White House

By Douglas Brinkley

Renowned historian Douglas Brinkley gives a unique take on a unique figure. While most anyone would consider the American presidency the pinnacle of personal achievement, Brinkley makes the case that for Jimmy Carter the highest office in his country was but a stepping stone to his later work on behalf of causes and peoples all over the world. Utilizing the relationships he’d built in office allowed Carter to travel the world as a statesman and humanitarian in his long post-presidential life, advocating with faithful zeal on behalf of the many disenfranchised.

40) Ronald Wilson Reagan

Reagan: The Life

In both life and death Ronald Reagan was as much an avatar of his political movement as perhaps any president; to this day Republican presidential candidates go out of their way to compare themselves to “The Gipper” in all ways possible. Revered by many for his infectious optimism and Cold War warrior’s zeal, reviled by others for his administration’s multiple scandals and controversial economic practices, the actor-turned-president was a true American original, and Brands’ expansive account of his life will give interested readers all they could hope for.

RELATED: Step Inside the White House With These Entertaining Reads  

41) George H.W. Bush

Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush

For the man who presided over the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War, and in the sands of Iraq, the first President Bush is today considered by many to be a historical footnote. Jon Meacham here makes the forceful case for a reevaluation of that conventional wisdom, as he draws on Bush’s personal diaries to paint a picture of a cerebral man who guided the nation through tumultuous times according to what he thought best for the country, even as it took its toll on his personal popularity.

42) William Jefferson Clinton

The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House

By John F. Harris

An apt title for the young man who found himself perpetually under siege from the day his presidency began, Harris’ appraisal of Bill Clinton’s life continually returns to the theme of survival. From losing the Arkansas governor’s mansion only to return, from his disastrous national debut at the 1988 DNC to his triumphant ascent to the presidency, from the ignominy of impeachment to leaving office with the highest approval ratings on record, Harris’ work offers an up close and personal view of a man who has inspired, frustrated and beguiled on his way to becoming one of the foremost figures of the modern era.

43) George W. Bush

Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House

By Peter Baker

Baker’s choice to feature Dick Cheney so prominently in both his title and his book on the years of “Dubya” is a fitting one, for few presidents have been so inextricably tied to their junior partners. However, Baker goes far beyond the simple explanation of Bush as Cheney’s puppet; rather, through hundreds of interviews and previously unreleased memos, he arrests our attention with the story of a friendship gone awry, from the president’s admiration of Cheney’s hard-nosed tactics that helped him eke out the closest election in American history to his disgust in their final years as one of the most disliked White House tandems the country has ever seen.

44) Barack Obama

The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama

By David Remnick

Any biography of the nation’s first African American president must address not only the life of its endlessly fascinating subject, but perform on-the-fly contextualization of the historical significance of something so fresh in our minds. Remnick clearly relishes the challenge, and his bestselling account of Obama’s life and task dovetails beautifully with an exploration of how America’s disgraceful past on the issue of race explosively gave way to its crowning achievement.

Related: The Barack Obama Reading List  

45) Donald Trump

TrumpNation

By Timothy L. O'Brien

How prescient O’Brien’s title was, as we found ourselves at this strange point in history where it was indeed Donald Trump’s America. True to form, after granting the author dozens of hours of interviews and traveling privileges, Trump then turned around and unsuccessfully sued O’Brien, claiming the author misrepresented his wealth as smaller than it “bigly” was. (Years later, Trump's leaked tax reforms would vindicate O'Brien's depiction of Trump's finances.) 

Likewise true to form, the president himself makes perhaps the best case for reading O’Brien’s book: he doesn’t want you to read it.

46) Joseph Biden

Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now

By Evan Osnos

National Book Award-winner Evan Osnos published this biography of President Joe Biden less than a week before Election Day 2020. At just 193 pages, the biography is surprisingly concise. But by blending interviews with both Biden and contemporary figures who know him best, including Barack Obama, Amy Klobuchar, and Pete Buttigieg, Osnos paints a picture of what the Biden presidency might look like—and why he may be exactly who this country needs right now.

Related: What Are Joe Biden's Favorite Books?

Featured photo courtesy of Wikipedia

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44 Presidential Biographies to Add to Your Reading List

Kate Scott is a bookstagrammer and strategic web designer serving women business owners and creative entrepreneurs. Follow her on Instagram @ parchmentgirl and visit her website at katescott.co/books .

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Ready to dive into history and learn more about the forty-four men who led these United (and sometimes not-so-united) States? Check out these definitive presidential biographies!

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow— Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize, this nearly one thousand–page tome is the definitive biography of America’s first president.

John Adams by David McCullough— Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize, this is one of my favorite presidential biographies because it has the rare combination of stellar historical research and beautiful, evocative writing.

Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham— This #1 New York Times bestseller explores Jefferson’s life through a political lens and offers a balanced view of the founding father’s strengths and weaknesses.

The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness by Harlow Giles Unger— At four hundred pages, this book offers an approachable introduction to America’s last—and oft-overlooked—founding father.

The Lost Founding Father: John Quincy Adams and the Transformation of American Politics by William J. Cooper— This new biography argues that John Adams’s less famous son has been sidelined by history and should be honored as a founding father alongside his predecessors.

Martin Van Buren and the American Political System by Donald B. Cole — This book provides an excellent introduction to the president you’d never heard of until that funny Google commercial came along.

Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy by Robert M. Owens— This book focuses on Harrison’s role in shaping America’s westward expansion and federal Indian policy in the Old Northwest.

Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter R. Borneman— This book offers a fascinating overview of Polk’s role in the westward expansion of America: wresting control of California and much of the southwest from Mexico, bringing Texas into the Union, and liberating most of Oregon from Britain’s grasp.

Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest by K. Jack Bauer— This biography explores the contradictory nature of America’s twelfth president.

Franklin Pierce by Michael F. Holt— This book offers a concise overview of the troubled presidency of Franklin Pierce and posits that the fourteenth president placed party over politics to the detriment of the nation.

President James Buchanan: A Biography by Philip S. Klein— This short biography explores the life of the man who all but ensured the ignition of the Civil War and has been consistently ranked as one of the worst presidents in American history.

Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy by David O. Stewart— This book details the impeachment of Lincoln’s successor and the chaos of post-Civil War politics.

Grant by Ron Chernow— This outstanding #1 New York Times bestselling biography argues that Grant has been unfairly judged by history and was far more complex than we give him credit for.

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard— This book chronicles James Garfield’s rise from poverty to the presidency and details the dramatic history of his assassination and legacy.

Gentleman Boss: The Life of Chester Alan Arthur by Thomas C. Reeves— This book recounts the life, early career as a lawyer and civil servant, and administration of the twenty-first president.

Benjamin Harrison by Charles W. Calhoun— This succinct biography offers an overview of the younger Harrison’s life as a leading Indiana lawyer, Lincoln campaigner, senator, and president.

President McKinley: Architect of the American Century by Robert W. Merry— This book contends that McKinley’s considerable achievements were overshadowed by his successor, Theodore Roosevelt, and seeks to restore his place in the presidential pantheon.

The William Howard Taft Presidency by Lewis L. Gould— This book offers a provocative analysis of Taft’s successes and failures in office and presents a compelling picture of the only president to later serve as a chief justice.

Wilson by A. Scott Berg— This compelling biography offers one of the most personal portraits of Woodrow Wilson, thanks to the author’s access to two recently-discovered caches of papers written by people close to the president.

Coolidge by Amity Shlaes— This New York Times bestselling biography chronicles the unlikely ascent of a small town New England youth to the presidency and offers a compelling portrait of the man who restored trust in Washington following the disastrous Harding administration.

Herbert Hoover in the White House: The Ordeal of the Presidency by Charles Rappleye— The result of detailed research, this this book argues that Hoover is not quite the passive president he is often portrayed as.

Truman by David McCullough— Another of David McCullough’s renowned presidential biographies, this book offers a nuanced portrait of the president who oversaw the conclusion of World War II and the Korean War.

Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith— In this definitive biography, Smith provides new insight into Ike’s apprenticeship under General MacArthur, his wartime affair with Kay Summersby, and the 1952 Republican convention that catapulted him into the White house.

Lyndon B. Johnson: Portrait of a President by Robert Dallek— Originally a two-volume biography, this book has been condensed into a more readable four hundred pages of insightful analysis of Johnson’s presidency.

Richard Nixon: A Life by John A. Farrell— This uncompromising biography of America’s darkest president explores the many twists and turns that found Nixon at the point of impeachment.

Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter by Randall Balmer— This fascinating book places Carter’s politics in the context of his faith and documents how he challenged the conventional marriage of Evangelical Christianity with conservative politics.

Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power by Lou Cannon— This is the first in a two-volume biography. The second volume is President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime .

The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House by John F. Harris— The author of this biography covered Clinton for the Washington Post for six of his eight years in office, giving him unparalleled insight into the inner workings of the Clinton White House.

Bush by Jean Edward Smith— This book offers a well-rounded look at the younger Bush’s presidency and documents how the president’s tendency to ignore his advisers led to some disastrous decisions.

The Making of Donald Trump by David Cay Johnston— This biography by a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist starts with Trump’s family origins and takes readers all the way up to the White House, detailing his long history of racism, mafia ties, shady business dealings, and ties to Russia.

Tell me about the best presidential biographies you’ve read in the comments!

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What To Read

11 best presidential biographies to read in 2023.

Between Presidents' Day and the news of former president Jimmy Carter entering hospice care at age 98, this has been a week for reflection on the legacies of some of the most impactful leaders in U.S. history. Here are 11 of the best presidential biographies that stand the test of time.

1. His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life

By jonathan alter.

While Carter has long been cast as an ineffective president, he has inspired admiration for decades for his public service after leaving office. Jonathan Alter's 2020 biography of the enigmatic former president shines light on a complicated and often poorly understood man and his legacy.

The book has received endorsements from noted journalists such as Dan Rather, who declared it "the definitive biography" on Carter, and the New York Times ' Peter Baker, who called it "a vivid three-dimensional portrait that explores his virtues and flaws with great insight." Book critic Michael Schaub praised the book for reflecting Carter "as a real person, as flawed as anyone else, and not as a saint," and said: "It's a book that's bound to fascinate anyone with an interest in American history."

by David McCullough

This 1992 biography of the 33rd president won the celebrated popular historian his first of two Pulitzer Prizes. (The second came less than a decade later for his biography of John Adams.) Harvard professor Robert N. Stavins called Truman "a remarkable book about an ordinary man who did great things."

3. First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton

By david maraniss.

Almost everything you need to know about the Clinton presidency can be found in this 1995 title by journalist David Maraniss, according to NPR's Kitty Eisele, who called it "a character study par excellence." A true authority on #42, Maraniss won a Pulitzer for his reporting on then-presidential candidate Clinton only three years earlier.

4. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

By joseph j. ellis.

In his 1997 review for The New York Times , Brent Staples described American Sphinx as "fresh and uncluttered but rich in historical context" and praised Ellis for his clear, nuanced, and hyperbole-free writing. The judging panel of the National Book Foundation agreed, and the book eventually took home the highly coveted award in the nonfiction category.

5. Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson III

By robert a. caro.

Book three in this colossal four-part biography of the 36th president won Caro both a Pulitzer and the National Book Award. Journalist Ronald Brownstein, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist himself for his reporting on presidential campaigns, called Caro's classic "the best non-fiction book about modern U.S. politics." At age 87, the author is still working on the last volume of his Johnson biography.

6. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

By doris kearns goodwin.

Bill Gates named this one of his five favorite books, calling it "the best guide to leading a country." The book "feels especially relevant now, when our country is once again facing violent insurrection, difficult questions about race, and deep ideological divides," he said. "Goodwin is one of America’s best biographers, and Team of Rivals is arguably her masterpiece."

7. Washington: A Life

By ron chernow.

Another prolific biographer of American historical figures, Chernow won the National Book Award in 1990 for his book on the Morgan financial dynasty and has also written acclaimed biographies of John D. Rockefeller , Alexander Hamilton and Ulysses S. Grant , among others. But it is the author's 2010 biography of the nation's first president, which won him both a Pulitzer and the American History Book Prize, that stands out.

Writing for Esquire , literary critic Adam Morgan named it one of the 50 best biographies of all time and said : "Chernow will change your impression of Washington from a boring, frowning statesman to something like an 18th-century punk rocker who liked to dance with women and hunt foxes, all while pulling no punches when it comes to Washington’s military failures and ownership of slaves."

8. John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit

By james traub.

As the son of John and Abigail Adams, John Quincy was born a son of the revolution. With that distinction also came the expectation that he would one day follow in his father's footsteps and ascend to the presidency. Lucky for author James Traub (and all lovers of American history), Adams kept a journal for nearly all his life, and the 14,000-page document serves as the backbone of this unique biography. The journal naturally provides a fascinating glimpse into Adams' political career, but perhaps more notably it provides readers with one of the most intimate portraits of a president's inner life.

Critic Thomas Filbin praised the author for taking full advantage of the terrific source, writing : "Traub has admirably captured the man inside the public figure, giving us a view of a typical New England grandee, puritanical at his core, molded as a traditionalist republican with no love for pure democracy."

9. Richard Nixon: The Life

By john a. farrell.

Farrell's 2017 biography of the disgraced 37th president was a finalist for the Pulitzer and the winner of several prizes in history writing. In a review for NPR, author Jason Heller praised the book for bringing the "dichotomy between brooding schemer and extroverted leader [that] has long defined the Nixon dynamic... into the most vivid — and the most startling — relief to date." Journalist John Harwood provided glowing praise on Twitter , writing: "It's hard to say emphatically enough how good Jack Farrell's Nixon biography is - in its literary style, scholarship, and analytical acuity... just terrific."

10. And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle

By jon meacham.

Another Lincoln book? We know, but we would be remiss not to include this latest effort by one of the great presidential biographers of recent decades. Meacham has previously published biographies on Thomas Jefferson , Franklin D. Roosevelt , Andrew Jackson (for which he won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize) and George H.W. Bush , but his latest book on the 16th, and arguably most consequential American president looks to be at least as good as anything he's written up to this point.

Retired general and current political commentator Barry R. McCaffrey offered this praise : "Just finished Jon Meacham’s magnificent biography of President Lincoln. A brilliant work of great importance. The most important figure in American history. Great wisdom. A political unifier. A man of enormous personal moral courage. The kindest of all men."

11. Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America

By maggie haberman.

For those with a penchant for masochism, journalist Caspar Henderson says that reading this book "brings all the joy of reliving one of your worst nightmares in painstaking and excruciating detail." We know, we are tired of the Trump books, too. But if you do feel the need to pick up one book about our most recent former president, this is the one that will go down in history, given the author's front-row seat to the action during the Trump era.

Best Presidential Biographies

March 16, 2024

Years ago my colleague, Michael Waldron , and I decided to read at least one biography of every U.S. president. We started before we met and made mostly independent choices on which books to read. We finally got through all the Presidents and compared notes to create a best presidential biographies reading list. If we read different books, I start with Michael’s notes, then mine, and give you our verdict.

George Washington

MW: Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow . I enjoyed the biography. I’m confident Chernow does his research and produces a comprehensive work.

SA: Washington: The Indispensable Man by James Thomas Flexner. A single volume distillation of Flexner’s definitive four-volume biography provides a dated but then definitive overview of Washington. I liked it. When Chernow’s book came out, I ended up reading it too.

Verdict: Chernow’s book. More recent and detailed.

John Adams by David McCullough. A great storyteller bringing to life an important founding father and American family.

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meachem. A very good biography that we both enjoyed more than others we read about Jefferson.

MW also read Thomas Jefferson & the New Nation by Merrill Peterson. In his view, it’s a long and pedantic biography on a character who lived an extremely interesting life. I disliked Jefferson as a President and believe he’s significantly overrated. At the same point, I respect his real accomplishments and genius.

SA also read American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson and enjoyed it although not as much as Meachem’s book. Jefferson had one excellent term and one mediocre one, and while severely flawed had a major impact as a founding father.

James Madison

MW: The Fourth President: A Life of James Madison by Irving Brant. Brant wrote 6 volumes on Madison covering in detail his time during the American Revolution, the drafting of the Constitution, his time as Secretary of State and his presidency. The biography I read was one volume synthesizing the work that went into the 6 volumes. I enjoyed it. The author is definitely a few rungs below David McCullough, Ron Chernow, Jean Edward Smith, and Jon Meachem.

SA: James Madison by Ralph Ketcham. At the time I picked it, it was considered the best one volume biography of Madison’s life. It did a nice job covering Madison from all angles and it had more on his wife. I also read Lynn Cheney’s Madison: A Life Reconsidered. It was fine, not better than Ketcham’s.

Verdict: Ketcham’s book. Brant’s book is older and harder to find.

James Monroe

MW: James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon. A capable biography of the least brilliant of the first 5 presidents.

SA: The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness by Harlow Unger. A very good biography of an early American hero. Well-written and chronicling an interesting man.

Verdict: Unger’s book. More recent and better reviewed.

John Quincy Adams

MW: John Quincy Adams A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul Nagel. I felt cheated with this biography. Nagel used JQA’s diaries as his main—almost exclusive—source, and focuses inward on JQA’s psychology rather than on the events of his time and his administration’s policies. I would try anything else that’s available on one of the most intellectually gifted presidents in our history.

SA: I also read this book and agree so the verdict is we can’t help you on this one except for the warning.

Andrew Jackson

MW: The Life of Andrew Jackson by Robert Remini. A fantastic condensed biography from Remini’s 3 volumes on Andrew Jackson. Remini is a brilliant writer on military strategy. The biography includes helpful maps. Jackson was a consequential president. His reputation is going through a period of decline, but I believe, taken in the context of his time, he was a strong leader who broadened our democracy. I also read American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meachem and enjoyed it thoroughly.

SA: American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meachem. An excellent Pulitzer Prize winning biography from one of our best writers on U.S. History.

Verdict: Sounds like you cannot go wrong with either book.

Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren: The Romantic Age of American Politics by John Niven. MW’s notes: There’s only so much you can do to make Van Buren interesting after the run from Washington through Jackson. Niven’s biography is thorough and well researched. I remember thinking about Van Buren: this is the first true professional politician to become President of the United States. It has interesting insight into New York State politics.

William Henry Harrison

Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time by Freeman Cleaves. MW’s notes: I enjoyed learning about Harrison’s military career in the then-North West before his presidency. Harrison’s Vice President, John Tyler, was a small-federal-government (States’ rights) advocate who was part of Jefferson’s Anti-Federalists, but broke with his party over the personality of Andrew Jackson. Tyler was a ticket-balancing selection for WHH—which will happen again—that resulted in an accidental executive who was an obstruction to the elected party’s legislative agenda after WHH’s death.

MW: John Tyler: Champion of the Old South by Oliver Perry Chitwood. Tyler assumed the executive office and vetoed as much legislation as possible that came to his desk which aimed at expanding the reach of the federal government. I’m not sure there’s a better option covering this unremarkable president.

SA: John Tyler, the Accidental President by Edward Crapol. Strong focus on the fact that Tyler was the first Vice President to become president and shaped what that transition became since it was in doubt before him. Tyler was also the only traitor president since he sided with the Confederacy.

Verdict: We both liked our choices, but MW has more confidence in his pick so go with Chitwood if you want more depth and Crapol if you want a shorter version.

Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter Bornema. MW’s notes: A fairly easy read and one of my favorite lesser-known presidents. His agenda was very clear entering the presidency and he largely delivered on each major item he set out to accomplish.

Zachary Taylor

MW: Zachary Taylor: Soldier of the Republic by Holman Hamilton and Zachary Taylor: Soldier in the White House by Holman Hamilton—There wasn’t much choice here. Writing two volumes on Taylor seems unnecessary. Zachary Taylor was unfit for the presidency. His death was suspicious.

SA: Zachary Taylor: The American Presidents Series: The 12th President, 1849-1850 by David Eisenhower. This is where the American President Series came in quite handy. 192 pages instead of two volumes.

Verdict: Eisenhower’s book.

Millard Filmore

MW: Millard Fillmore: Biography of a President by Robert Rayback—The true Whig in the Taylor-Fillmore joint term, Fillmore helped pass the legislation that comprised the Compromise of 1850. He was more of a local New York politician than a true national figure or statesman.

SA: Millard Fillmore: The American Presidents Series: The 13th President, 1850-1853 by Paul Finkelman. Continuing my run with shorter books on unremarkable presidents. Didn’t think he deserved more than 171 pages.

Verdict: Rayback’s book. Well-rated and not that long, it’s worth a deeper dive given the place in history.

Franklin Pierce

MW: Franklin Pierce: Young Hickory of the Granite Hills by Roy Franklin Nichols. A biography to “get through.” Pierce’s three sons died young; the last to die passed away from a train accident. Pierce’s wife blamed his ambition for the office of President for his son’s death. At the same time, the country was in pre-Civil War unrest, especially in Kansas.

SA: Franklin Pierce: The American Presidents Series: The 14th President, 1853-1857 by Michael Holt. Still going strong with my shorter series.

Verdict: Holt’s book. Michael characterized his choice as something to get through. I didn’t feel like I missed anything with my choice.

James Buchanan

MW: President James Buchanan: A Biography by Philips Klein—A president who refused to take responsibility and use his office to hold the nation together. With Lincoln on the horizon, one can gut his or her way through this biography.

SA: James Buchanan: The American Presidents Series: The 15th President, 1857-1861 by Jean Baker. You guessed it. I went with the shorter version for this awful president. I think at this point I was in a rush to get to Lincoln.

Verdict: Baker’s book. 506 pages is too much to commit to Buchanan.

Abraham Lincoln

MW: Lincoln by David Herbert Donald—Solid biography of a character who makes the job easy.

SA: A. Lincoln: A Biography by Ronald C. White. Perhaps the best presidential biography I have read. One of history’s most fascinating people delivered in a great book.

Verdict: White’s book. I also read Donald’s and agree it’s very good. Both Michael and I also strongly recommend Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson: A Biography by Hans Trefousse. MW’s notes: I believe Lincoln chose Johnson for Vice President in his second term to make a constitutional argument that the States that seceded never actually left the United States (making ‘readmittance’ a non-issue). Johnson remained in the Senate from Tennessee and to be elected vice president one must be a “resident of the U.S.” His election would mean Tennessee was still a State in the United States. Unfortunately, in every other way, Johnson was a Southern Democrat. During a critical window where much could have been accomplished for Civil Rights, Johnson reverted back to his true ideological colors and stood for States’ rights. If Lincoln had lived, reconstruction would have started on a much different path. Johnson was one of the worst presidents who set the U.S. back a century on Civil Rights.

Ulysses Grant

MW: Grant by William S. McFeely—My worst choice of a biographer. There is a Grant biography by Jean Edward Smith who is a wonderful military historian and a new Grant biography by Ron Chernow. Go with Smith and/or Chernow for a proper treatment of U.S. Grant.

SA: The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace by H.W. Brands and Grant by Ron Chernow.

Verdict: You can’t go wrong with either Smith/Brands/Chernow.

Rutherford Hayes

MW: Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President by Ari Hoogenboom. I maintain that Hayes was not elected President of the United States. That aside, I generally liked Hayes and found the biography informative. The focus is civil service reform.

SA: Rutherford B. Hayes by Hans Trefousse. Another American President Series selection. These are good books, and I didn’t think I missed much going with a longer selection.

Verdict: It depends on how many pages you have the appetite for, 700 or 200.

James Garfield

MW: Garfield by Alan Peskin—I would have loved to see what Garfield could have accomplished over a full term (or two). His medical treatment after being shot makes you appreciate how far the medical industry has come in the past century and a half. His compromise vice president to the Stalwarts, Chester Arthur, is the least well qualified president since Taylor.

SA: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard. This bestselling book goes beyond presidential biography and tells an amazing story about his assassination and treatment.

Verdict: Millard’s book.

Chester Arthur

Gentleman Boss: The Life of Chester Alan Arthur by Thomas Reeves. MW’s notes: Ranking low with Johnson and Buchanan, Chester Arthur was a dirty, clubby politician who should never have been president. He reminds me of Warren Harding, caring more about being part of the boys’ club than having a vision for the country and a deep caring for the people. At least when he succeeded to President, Arthur acted with dignity. His presidency was a pause in American history. He was suffering from Bright’s disease in office and didn’t have initiative for driving progress.

Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland A Study in Courage by Allan Nevins—Two volumes that one may split around Benjamin Harrison. A good gateway Democrat to win the presidency after the Civil War. His presidency deals with the gold standard vs. free silver, Eastern creditors vs. Western debtors (which is somewhat boring compared to other topics). Nevins is a solid historian.

Benjamin Harrison

MW: Benjamin Harrison: Hoosier President , Harry Sievers—Two volumes on Harrison is a lot. There aren’t many options. I don’t remember much other than Harrison being perceived as cold and a bad communicator.

SA: Benjamin Harrison: The American Presidents Series: The 23rd President, 1889-1893 by Charles Calhoun. With the lack of great options, I went with the shorter version and enjoyed the book.

Verdict: Calhoun’s book.

William McKinley

William McKinley and His America by H. Wayne Morgan. MW’s notes: A surprisingly good biography of a successful president. The Spanish-American war brought the country back together and was the first demonstration of the United States as an international major power. I thought I’d have to “get through” one more before it became interesting again with TR, but the turn out of the forgettable presidents came one president earlier than expected for me.

Note: this book is hard to find, so the American President Series choice is a solid option, as is The Triumph of William McKinley .

Theodore Roosevelt

We both read The Morris Trilogy which is The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris, Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris, and Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. TR is such a colorful character that the trilogy remains interesting throughout. Theodore Rex is the one to read if you just want to cover his presidential administration. Morris is a solid author.

I would also recommend T.R.: The Last Romantic by H.W. Brands. The writing is tighter, and the research is just as strong.

William Howard Taft

MW: The Life & Times of William Howard Taft , by Henry Pringle. Two volumes well worth reading. I thought Taft started great through his service in the Philippines and in Teddy Roosevelt’s administration. But I felt he remained behind the times and didn’t adapt to the new reality of America post-industrialization during his presidency and service on the Supreme Court.

SA: William Howard Taft: The American Presidents Series: The 27th President, 1909-1913 by Jeffrey Rosen. You get a lot about Taft in the Roosevelt books, and I didn’t want to read two more volumes after reading three on TR.

Verdict: Decide how much time you want to commit to Taft. We’re both happy with our choices.

Woodrow Wilson

MW: Woodrow Wilson: A Biography by August Heckscher. An excellent biography of one of my favorite presidents. Wilson’s reputation is similarly on the ebb, but I view him in an elite group of great presidents. His patience before entering WWI turned out to be the right decision for the country, allowing enough consensus to build to go into it with unity and prospering during the early war year while benefitting from ‘winning’ the war. He was a visionary, a wonderful communicator, and he had an exceptional understanding of the levers of power.

SA: Woodrow Wilson: A Biography by John Milton Cooper Jr. Another favorable look at Wilson, albeit a more more recent one and the first definitive biography on Wilson in a couple of decades. I don’t view him nearly as favorably as MW, but he was a transformational figure.

Verdict: Cooper’s more recent book.

Warren Harding

MW: The Shadow of Blooming Grove: Warren G. Harding in His Times , by Francis Russell. An angry author (about his lack of approval in using Harding’s papers) writing on a terrible president. Harding did an admirable job building his newspaper business as a young man, but then retired into the easy life, drinking, philandering, and enjoying a clubby political circle. His administration was filled with criminals who stole from the country while he continued his affairs in the White House and paid hush money the very young mistress of his illegitimate child.

SA: Warren G. Harding: The American Presidents Series: The 29th President, 1921-1923 by John Dean. Without great choices and a terrible president, I went with the shorter version.

Verdict: Dean’s book.

Calvin Coolidge

Coolidge by Amity Shlaes. MW’s notes: A solid biography on an under-appreciated president. Coolidge was an exceptional governor of Massachusetts during the police strike and an economically conservative president who brought the country’s fiscal situation to order. Meanwhile, he was reasonably progressive socially. I found the Coolidge administration refreshing.

Herbert Hoover

Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times by Kenneth Whyte. MW’s notes: A worthy biographer of an unfairly maligned president. Hoover was one of the most able presidents. He was extraordinarily successful in business and threw aside his goals of accumulating wealth to help coordinate feeding the starving population in occupied Belgium during WWI. So well fit to be president, it’s unfortunate the Great Depression hit during his time.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

FDR by Jean Edward Smith. MW’s notes: A great president written about by an elite author. JES focuses on FDR and largely leaves out Eleanor Roosevelt’s impact, which you’ll want to supplement.

Harry Truman

Truman by David McCullough. Another contender for best presidential biography. Elite author writing on a top-of-tier-2 president who was an admirable man stepping into power at the most complicated time.

A much more recent biography, The Trials of Harry S. Truman: The Extraordinary Presidency of an Ordinary Man, 1945-1953 by Jeffrey Frank is also excellent and worth reading.

Dwight Eisenhower

Eisenhower: In War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith. MW’s notes: An elite author writing on the bottom-of-top-tier presidents.

John F. Kennedy

An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy by Robert Dallek. We both read this book and found it wasawful. Dallek focuses on his medical history, which is not as interesting as the historical events happening during his time.

I recently read the first volume of a planned two on JFK by Fredrick Logevall, JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956. It’s excellent, and I look forward to the release of volume two.

Verdict: Logevall!

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson: The American Presidents Series: The 36th President, 1963-1969 by Charles Peters. A tragic Presidency in many ways that was well covered in this short biography.

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon: The Life by John A Farrell . Awful president, but fascinating character in an excellent book by Farrell.

Gerald Ford

MW: Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life by James Cannon. Cannon writes well before he brings himself into the story. It’s striking how much better the first half of this biography is than the second half. Ford was a solid president who I believe made a deal with Nixon to pardon him which probably cost Ford the ability to be elected in his own right.

SA: Gerald R. Ford (The American Presidents Series: The 38th President, 1974-1977)   by Douglas Brinkley. The other options didn’t look great, so again I went with the shorter version and enjoyed it.

Verdict: Brinkley’s book.

Jimmy Carter

His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life by Jonathan Alter. MW’s notes: I was worried that Alter was going to be coming at this biography from a distortedly partisan point of view. In the end, I enjoyed the biography. Jimmy Carter was a good man, but you need someone stronger in the office of the President of the United States. He’s more of a missionary preaching peace and kindness than a commander-in-chief and dynamic head of the executive branch.

Ronald Reagan

Reagan: The Life by H.W. Brands. MW’s notes: I went into the Reagan biography with a slightly negative opinion about his actual abilities relative to the favorable circumstances in the 1980s; I left the Reagan biography impressed with him as a leader and communicator. Brands is an author I’ll follow in the future. His presentation of negotiations between Reagan and Gorbachev is captivating. Highly recommended and one of the best presidential biographies I read.

George H.W. Bush

Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush . A good man, we enjoyed learning about George H.W. Bush’s life and leadership. Meacham is an excellent author and Bush is a dramatically underrated president.

Be sure to listen to this podcast episode where Michael and I discuss what we learned about investing and the economy after reading these books.

Suggested Further Reads

Ulysses S. Grant

The Fourth of July

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Best Book Lists, Award Aggregation, & Book Data

The Best Books About Every US President

(You can view the rest of our presidential Best Book lists by going to our Best US President Books page.)

If you are reading this before November 8th 2016 enjoy our countdown to election day with the best books to learn about every US President. If you are reading this on or after November 8th, enjoy a completed list of the best books and articles about every US president and ignore any of the now incorrect word tenses we may use.

We are starting this countdown 43 days before the election so we can go president by president, starting with George Washington and ending with Obama on November 7th. There have technically been 44 different presidents, but we aren’t going to do an article for each of Grover Cleveland’s non-consecutive terms.

This is probably as good a place as any to quickly go over how we arrived at the top books for every president. We do have a page that goes over how these articles are created ( here ). Essentially we look at other “Best Books about _____” lists that have been created online and give a point for every book that is mentioned on each list. The ranking of the books doesn’t matter, just that they appeared. After we have found at least 10 different lists (usually more), we rank the books by which ones appeared the most. It is an incredibly unscientific process, but at the end of the day it still provides a pretty great list of books to read on whatever subject we are covering. New books and lists are coming out all of the time, so consider these as more of a good starting point instead of a complete master list (as you should with any list of books).

Before we get to the top books and links to the articles with the full lists we thought we would take a quick look at some of the statistics. (The main takeaway from most of that data is that Lincoln is by far the most popular president.)

Number of Sources For Each Article

Unique Books For Each President

Number Of Articles Top Book(s) Appear On

Alright, on to the best book(s) about every president!

See Full List of Books

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Get Acquainted with Presidents and Thinkers Alike with These Essential Leadership Listens

Presidents' Day is the perfect time to learn more about some of the political leaders who left their mark on America's history. This collection of bios and memoirs is a great place to start.

In the nearly 250-year history of the United States, there has been no shortage of political leaders from whom we can learn valuable lessons. From presidents and senators to influential thinkers, speakers, and activists, a diverse range of leaders, from all kinds of sociopolitical backgrounds and worlds of thought, have affected policy change and made a lasting impact on our nation.

Whether you’re looking for the perfect audiobook to celebrate Presidents' Day or just searching for an inspiring political take on how we got here and where we’ve yet to go, these titles are a great place to start. So, if you'd like to dive into some of the best listens about how to affect change and bring people together, look no further than this list of audio biographies and memoirs from presidents and political leaders.

Best Memoirs and Biographies of Presidents

A promised land.

Written and narrated by Barack Obama himself, this in-depth and engaging memoir covers the first term of the former president's historic presidency. Obama details his youth, with attention to when he first realized he wanted a career in politics, and takes listeners through his journey to the White House. He lets us in behind the scenes of some of the most pivotal decisions from his first term and ruminates on the powers and limitations of a president. The first volume in Obama's presidential memoirs, A Promised Land is an insightful and engrossing listen.

Promise Me, Dad

Written and narrated by Joe Biden himself, this personal and deeply moving memoir recounts the day he learned that his son Beau had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, and follows the year in his life following that devastating news. Before he died, Beau asked his dad to promise him he'd be all right—and Biden swore he would. This is an emotional account of how personal and private tragedy shaped a leader’s life and purpose.

His Very Best

Noted journalist and historian Jonathan Alter sheds fascinating light on Jimmy Carter, an enigmatic man of deep faith and high principles, and his improbable journey to the White House and beyond. Raised in abject poverty in the Jim Crow South, Carter became an impassioned and surprisingly popular civic leader. After a difficult presidency, he rebounded, continuing his work to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, advance human rights, and eradicate disease and homelessness, becoming a Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian. Michael Boatman narrates this nuanced portrait of our oldest living president, now 97, and one of the most underrated.

You Never Forget Your First

Alexis Coe turns the presidential biography on its head in You Never Forget Your First . This provocative account of George Washington takes a deep dive into his life before the Revolutionary War and examines how the American people—and history—have recast him as a benevolent founding father of our nation. Not one to flinch away from the less palatable aspects of GW's life, Coe offers a more balanced look at the first president, with plenty of humor and lots of heart. Performed by Brittany Pressley, this is a presidential biography made accessible (and entertaining!) for all.

Conversations with Joe

Get to know our now-president even better through hearing him speak candidly about overcoming adversity, finding renewed purpose after losing his son Beau to brain cancer, and moving forward with determination and hope. Taken from Joe Biden's 29-city American tour as Vice President of the United States, Conversations with Joe features highlights of his heart-to-heart talks with many influential thinkers and commentators, including George Saunders, Stephen Colbert, Constance Wu, Melinda Gates, Leslie Odom Jr., and Aaron Sorkin. A compelling listen, this Audible Original reinforces Biden's message of unity and promise in a way that's intimate and heartfelt.

The Lincoln Obsession

Abraham Lincoln is a much-beloved American president who continues to keep our attention not only for his role in trying to hold the nation together during the Civil War and his landmark Emancipation Proclamation but also because of his tragic assassination. In this Audible Original, renowned Lincoln scholar James L. Swanson shares the story of his lifelong obsession with the murder of our revered 16th President. In this gripping listen, which he also narrates, Swanson takes us behind the scenes of his research into Lincoln's final days and moments, as well as delves into lingering questions about John Wilkes Booth's motivation for this shattering crime—and his conspirators.

Presidents Are People Too!

In this Audible Original podcast, former Daily Show writer Elliott Kalan and historian Alexis Coe, author of You Never Forget Your First , take a more humorous and human look at the men who've led the country over the centuries. Beyond adding to the understanding of presidents we all know well for their triumphs and blunders, the hosts bring fully to life and poke fun at more obscure presidents—Franklin Pierce, Chester A. Arthur, and Gerald Ford among them. Kalan and Coe are often joined by guest experts such as Jon Stewart, Gail Collins, H.W. Brands, and Mary Roach, who add their own fascinating insights and unexpected twists.

Best Biographies and Memoirs of Political Leaders

Lead from the outside.

Written and narrated by Georgia governor hopeful, voting rights activist, serial entrepreneur, and best-selling author Stacey Abrams , Lead from the Outside is an inspiring and informative book about what it means to organize and inspire people to take action towards achieving great change. As a Black woman, Abrams knows firsthand what it's like to be kept from the table. Using her hard-won insights, she offers marginalized Americans something more valuable than hope: practical steps for building the skills to realize their ambitions and make a real difference.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama is no stranger to the spotlight, having served in one of the most visibly public positions in our country—and making history as the first Black woman to do so. But in this memoir, she gets candid about her life experiences and the moments that have shaped her, as well as her time in the White House and the sense of purpose she finds in helping to create programs that strengthen the health of families. Obama narrates this audiobook herself with her usual candor and grace, making Becoming an absolute must-listen.

Madam Speaker

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8 Captivating Presidential Biographies

Brush up on your american history with these riveting reads.

Lauren Vespoli​,

In February we commemorate the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln on President's Day — an ideal time to remember those two legendary leaders as well as other influential American presidents. The following eight books are some of the best presidential biographies to come out in the past 30 years. They offer absorbing portraits of men faced with daunting challenges, usually both personal and political, and frank analyses of their often-complicated legacies.

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You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington 

by Alexis Coe (2020)

This is a clear-eyed and occasionally playful portrayal of an American icon by Coe, a historian and cohost of the Presidents Are People Too! podcast. She debunks myths big and small, like the narrative that Washington's mother, Mary, was an obstruction to George's success and the oft-repeated story of his wooden teeth (they were actually made of ivory and teeth from other humans or animals, or sometimes built with a mix of metals). Rather than detailing all of his Revolutionary War battles, the book focuses on Washington's skills as a diplomat and spy. Coe breaks up the narrative with creative formatting, such as a timeline of diseases he survived (including malaria, smallpox and tuberculosis).

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by David McCullough (2001)

This Pulitzer Prize winner portrays the founding father and second president as a straight-talking, modest Yankee who was also one of the most influential architects of a young America. We follow Adams from the Boston Massacre and on to the Continental Congress, the court of King George II, where he represented American interests, and the White House (he was the first president to reside there). Throughout, McCullough incorporates Adams’ rich trove of correspondence with his beloved wife, Abigail, and with his friend and political rival Thomas Jefferson, to show how these two central relationships shaped his extraordinary life.

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Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times

by David S. Reynolds (2020)

More than 16,000 books have been published about President Lincoln, but Abe manages to add a new dimension to the conversation with a focus on how Lincoln's engagement with the high and low culture of the antebellum period shaped the way he steered the country through the Civil War. As a cultural historian, Reynolds is able to introduce a cast of colorful characters, currently obscure but well known at the time, such as Charles Blondin, a tightrope performer who crossed Niagara Falls in 1859 with his agent on his back. Lincoln was often compared to Blondin, as he attempted to balance between liberals and conservatives in order to lead the country to emancipation.

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

by Jon Meacham (2008)

This lively biography — another Pulitzer Prize winner — looks at how Andrew Jackson's stormy presidency shaped the country's highest office, for better and, quite often, worse. Meacham makes the case that Jackson was responsible for the expansion of the executive branch and shows how he pioneered what we think of as modern politics, including campaigning directly to the American people and contentious partisanship. The book also looks at the political repercussions of scandals within Jackson's inner circle, such as the Petticoat Affair, which roiled his cabinet and led to the rise of his successor, Martin Van Buren. Meacham presents this controversial president as embodying the best and worst sides of America, in his unwavering belief in the common man and his vicious policy of Native American removal and support of the slave trade.

by Ron Chernow (2017)

Ulysses S. Grant was long cast as a drunken Civil War general and corruption-plagued president, despite his leadership of the Union Army to victory. Historian and Alexander Hamilton author Chernow repudiates that reputation, painting Grant as a brilliant military tactician, and focuses on his commitment to Reconstruction. As president, Grant passed legislation and sent federal troops to suppress the Klu Klux Klan and earned the admiration of Frederick Douglass, who called him “the vigilant, firm and wise protector of our race.” But Chernow also explores in great detail the man's flaws, such as his struggles with alcoholism and overly trusting nature.

Theodore Rex

by Edmund Morris (2001)

This is book two in Morris’ masterful trilogy on Theodore Roosevelt, published 21 years after the Pulitzer Prize–winning first book. Just as fascinating, Theodore Rex focuses on Roosevelt's two-term presidency, beginning in 1901, when at age 42 he became the youngest person to ever become president. Morris captures the man's energy and charisma, traits that helped him broker an end to the Russo-Japanese War (which won him a Nobel Peace Prize), maneuver the construction of the Panama Canal and lay the foundation for the National Park System — and that informed his proclivity for naked swims in the Potomac and rounds of boxing with his cabinet members — as well as his missteps on race relations.

No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in WWII

by Doris Kearns Goodwin (1994)

Goodwin weaves together the domestic lives of the Roosevelts and the nation during the upheaval during and after World War II in, yes, another Pulitzer Prize winner and a huge best seller. Drawing from 86 interviews with people who knew the president and first lady personally, the famed historian includes a wonderful level of personal detail — during the war years, for instance, Franklin would help himself fall asleep by imagining that he was sledding at his childhood home in Hyde Park, New York. She also describes how, as Franklin focused on winning the war, the remarkable Eleanor battled her husband to secure the home front and preserve New Deal gains , as well as make progress in civil rights, housing, and welfare.

Richard Nixon: The Life

by John Farrell (2017)

This unsparing and insightful bio includes new evidence of Nixon's meddling in Lyndon B. Johnson's attempt at a Vietnam War peace deal, substantiated by a cache of newly unearthed notes written by Nixon's chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman. Farrell, a former political journalist, draws on interviews with Nixon's friends, family and associates, which were only unsealed in 2012, in order to show how Nixon created his political persona as a champion of “the forgotten man” and successfully fanned race and class divisions in the country — and also how the Watergate scandal that forced Nixon's resignation wasn't an anomaly but the last act in a decade-long pattern of illegal activity that left a dark legacy.

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The Best Biographies of Franklin D. Roosevelt

30 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by Steve in Best Biographies Posts , President #32 - F Roosevelt

≈ 42 Comments

Adam Cohen , American history , Arthur Schlesinger Jr. , biographies , book reviews , Conrad Black , Doris Kearns Goodwin , FDR , Frank Freidel , Geoffrey Ward , H.W. Brands , James MacGregor Burns , Jean Edward Smith , Jeff Shesol , Jonathan Alter , Joseph Lash , Peter Collier , presidential biographies , Presidents , Pulitzer Prize , Robert Sherwood , Ted Morgan

Every student of American history knows that Franklin D. Roosevelt served more terms as President of the United States than any other person ever has – or ever will .

During the FDR presidency, America faced two of the greatest crises in its history: the Great Depression and World War II.  His response to those challenges fundamentally altered the relationship between the American people and their government…and left FDR with a reputation as one of the most consequential (if not successful) of U.S. presidents.

It should not be surprising that FDR consumed more of my time than any other president: 19 books, almost 12,000 pages and more than seven months. He proved daring, bold, intriguing, provocative and fascinating – but I’m glad to be moving on to Harry Truman!

I began with five single-volume biographies of FDR:

* “ FDR ” by Jean Edward Smith – This is one of the most frequently read and highly acclaimed biographies of FDR, and for good reason: it is excellent . Authored by one of today’s most capable biographers, “FDR” is thorough, engaging and well-balanced. It proved to be nearly the perfect length, consistently clear and difficult to put down. The only thing I really missed was a concluding chapter focused on FDR’s legacy.  ( Full review here )

* “ Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt ” by H.W. Brands – This proved to be my favorite of the four Brands biographies I’ve read so far.  A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, this book is detailed, well-organized and quite interesting; Brands’s discussion of the war years is particularly successful. Missing from this book is adequate coverage of Eleanor and some of FDR’s family and friends, as well a deeper look at their impact on his political life. ( Full review here )

* “ Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom ” by Conrad Black – This is the longest of the single-volume biographies I’ve read on  any president. As a result, coverage of FDR is not merely thorough…it is  encyclopedic . I cannot image a more comprehensive (or exhaustive) review of FDR’s life in a single volume. Unfortunately, Black’s writing style lacks fluidity and the narrative often fails to engage the reader. In addition, the author offers too many facts and not nearly enough insight or analysis. ( Full review here )

* “ Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny ” by Frank Freidel – This seems to be the abridgement of the multi-volume series Freidel never completed. After writing the first four (of a projected six) volumes, Freidel abandoned the series and, instead, wrote this book more than a decade later. Unfortunately, FDR’s pre-presidency is covered far too quickly and the remainder of the book focuses almost exclusively on the “public” FDR while often ignoring the foibles and quirks which made him so enigmatic. Reading more like a history text, this biography lacks an engaging narrative or a consistent exploration for why events unfolded as they did. ( Full review here )

* “ FDR: A Biography ” by Ted Morgan – Written by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, I had high expectations for this biography. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed. This is a lengthy and detailed review of FDR’s life which fails to engage the reader. It lacks vibrancy, a consistent level of focus on important issues or events and provides inadequate insight and analysis. Its high points (including aspects of FDR’s childhood and its description of the Casablanca Conference) do not offset its shortcomings.  ( Full review here )

Next I read three multi-volume series (only the first covers FDR’s entire life):

* James MacGregor Burns: – “ Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox 1882-1940 ” (Vol 1) – “ Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom 1940-1945 ” (Vol 2)

The Burns series is often considered the earliest truly comprehensive biography of FDR, its first volume having been published in 1956. The second volume won a Pulitzer Prize in 1971.

Volume 1 covers FDR’s life up through his second presidential term. It is far more focused on his public life than his friends and family – readers will learn more of Mussolini than Eleanor Roosevelt, for example – and is far more focused on his first eight years in office than his pre -presidency. But even his first two terms are strangely covered and discussion of the “New Deal” initiative, in particular, was a bit chaotic and difficult to follow. ( Full review here )

Volume 2 begins with FDR’s election to a third presidential term; its primary thesis is that FDR was a deeply divided man who was complex and incomprehensible. Despite offering many excellent moments, this volume is disappointing and, in the end, fails to adequately address its thesis or examine FDR’s legacy. ( Full review here )

* Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. – “ The Age of Roosevelt: The Crisis of the Old Order (1919-1933) ” (Vol 1) – “ The Age of Roosevelt: The Coming of the New Deal (1933-1935) ” (Vol 2) – “ The Age of Roosevelt: The Politics of Upheaval (1935-1936) ” (Vol 3)

Written in the late 1950s by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., this series offers an interesting but incomplete examination of FDR’s life up through his early presidency. Originally intended to consist of four volumes, Schlesinger abandoned the series after being appointed Special Assistant to President Kennedy in 1961.

Volume 1 ostensibly covers FDR’s pre-presidency but is far more a political history of the times than a comprehensive introduction to Roosevelt. It is excellent at what it does cover (both of the era and FDR himself) but readers hoping to learn much about FDR’s early life will be disappointed. ( Full review here )

Volume 2 covers the earliest years of FDR’s presidency and focuses on his efforts to combat the Depression. The New Deal is dissected meticulously but the focus is almost always on the legislative process as well as the programs themselves. Roosevelt appears in person only occasionally. As a review of his early presidency this book shines; as an examination of FDR himself it falls short. ( Full review here )

Volume 3 covers the last years of Roosevelt’s first presidential term. Like earlier volumes, this book is detailed and insightful…but also focuses far more on the times than the man; it is essentially a political biography of the last phase of the New Deal. Schlesinger is masterful when writing about the era, but does not promise – or offer – a complete picture of Roosevelt himself. ( Full review here )

* Geoffrey C. Ward – “ Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1905) ” (Vol 1) – “ A First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt (1905-1928) ” (Vol 2)

Geoffrey Ward’s series on FDR is the second “incomplete” series I read on Roosevelt.  I am unaware whether Ward ever actually intended to complete his analysis of the Roosevelt’s timeline with a final volume…but what Ward does cover of FDR’s life in these two volumes is extremely well done.

Volume 1 reviews FDR’s life up to his marriage in 1905, including a very detailed look at Roosevelt’s ancestry. Two of the most interesting chapters may well be the last two which focus on Eleanor’s troubled childhood and her early relationship with Franklin. This proves a fine, but not perfect, introduction to FDR. ( Full review here )

Volume 2 covers Roosevelt’s life through his election as Governor of New York in 1928. As a consequence of this chronology, Ward spends more time reflecting on FDR’s personality and relationships than his politics. Very well written, this book is absorbing and revealing. Unfortunately, it ends too soon and leaves the reader to wonder where Ward might have taken the series had he followed Roosevelt into the White House… ( Full review here )

Finally, I read seven FDR- focused books:

* “ No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt ” by Doris K. Goodwin –  This classic seems to be the best-read of all FDR-focused books.  It is not a traditional biography but, instead, is part history text and part dual-biography. Chronologically it is focused on the last five years of FDR’s presidency, but periodically back-fills (sometimes extensively) to create context. But despite focusing on the “war years” this book is far more concerned with domestic rather than foreign affairs. In the end, “No Ordinary Time” is an excellent standalone read, but is probably even better when read after completing a traditional, comprehensive biography of FDR. ( Full review here )

* “ Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. The Supreme Court ” by Jeff Shesol – Focused on the “Court Packing” episode during FDR’s second term, I was skeptical of this book given the topic. Nevertheless, I found it well written, extremely clear and surprisingly engaging. Shesol takes the time to provide adequate context (for both the FDR presidency and the New Deal itself) before embarking on his primary mission. Lawyers may well enjoy this book but it is successfully aimed at the general reader. ( Full review here )

* “ Nothing to Fear: FDR’s Inner Circle and the 100 Days that Created Modern America ” by Adam Cohen – As its title suggests, Cohen’s book is focused on the earliest days of the FDR presidency. Because it also offers interesting mini-biographies of his five closest advisers, this feels a bit like Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals” but with less depth and character development. It does an adequate (if not exceptional) job reviewing Roosevelt’s first 100 days but, because much remained in the fight against the Depression at the end of this period, the book feels somewhat incomplete when it ends. ( Full review here )

* “ The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope ” by Jonathan Alter – Oddly (given its title) this is not a book focused primarily on FDR’s “Hundred Days.” Indeed, the book’s precise mission is never really clear. After spending well more than half its pages reviewing FDR’s pre-presidency, fewer than fifty pages are actually devoted to FDR’s Hundred Days. While generally well written and often interesting, this book feels like ordering a pizza but receiving half a baked potato, some pepperoni and part of a tasty dessert.  ( Full review here )

* “ Eleanor & Franklin ” by Joseph Lash – This Pulitzer Prize-winning book was written by a longtime friend of Eleanor Roosevelt who received special access to her papers after her death. Because of the author’s close relationship with Eleanor it is not surprising this is less a dual-biography of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt than a book designed to highlight Eleanor’s transformation from insecure orphan to champion of humanitarian causes. FDR only appears sporadically (usually as the antagonist) and Lash is reluctant to fully ponder this intriguing couple’s particular challenges. This is essentially a good biography of Eleanor which could have been great . ( Full review here)

* “ Roosevelt and Hopkins: An Intimate History ” by Robert Sherwood – This Pulitzer Prize-winning book was authored by one of FDR’s speechwriters at the request of the Hopkins family following his death. While apparently a dual-biography of FDR and Harry Hopkins (who was a friend and adviser to FDR) the lion’s share of the attention accrues to Hopkins. But in most ways this is really a detailed behind-the-scenes historical account of World War II as seen by Hopkins and Sherwood. Much of value is contained in these 934 pages, but the first one-third of the book is by far its best. ( Full review here )

* “ The Roosevelts: An American Saga ” by Peter Collier – This multi-generational (and multi- branch ) biography focuses on the FDR and TR branches of the Roosevelt family tree. The book proves readable, interesting and quite colorful. But it fails to shine much light on the FDR or TR presidencies and often feels imbalanced. Eleanor Roosevelt, in particular, receives particularly harsh coverage. The book also promises dramatic clashes between the two branches as they struggle to control the family legacy…but this thesis is oversold. All-in-all, an interesting but not compelling read. ( Full review here )

[ Added January 2020 ]

* I recently had the opportunity to read Alonzo Hamby’s “ Man of Destiny: FDR and the Making of the American Century ” which was published in 2015 and did not make my original list of biographies of FDR.  Hamby’s goal was to write a balanced and efficient biography of Roosevelt. But while the book successfully achieves those two objectives, it proves disappointingly bland and colorless relative to other biographies which cover FDR’s life.  Students of foreign policy who are less interested in Roosevelt’s personality and relationships may find it satisfying, but most readers are likely to find it relatively disappointing. ( Full review here )

[ Added January 2021 ]

* Over the past three weeks I read esteemed historian Robert Dallek’s 2017 biography “ Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Political Life .” Dallek professes his fondness for FDR, proclaiming him one of the country’s three greatest presidents. But, remarkably, the 627-page narrative is extremely objective and balanced nevertheless.

However, readers seeking colorful context or special insight into Roosevelt’s closest personal and professional relationships will be disappointed – as well those already familiar with the 32nd president who are hoping to find fresh revelations based on new research. In the end, this is a competent but clinical (and generally dry) synthesis of previously-published biographies of FDR. There is little new to see here and readers seeking an introduction to Roosevelt will want to look elsewhere. ( Full review here )

Best Single-Volume Biography of FDR: Jean Edward Smith’s “ FDR ”

Best Single-Volume Bio (Runner-Up): H.W. Brands’s “ Traitor to His Class ”

Best Non-Traditional Biography of FDR: Doris K. Goodwin’s “ No Ordinary Time “

Several readers have requested I share my thoughts on which supporting characters for each president seem compelling enough to warrant a biographical side-trip. Franklin Roosevelt offers interested readers an enormous circle of compelling friends, colleagues, advisers and nemeses. Among them:

– Louis Howe (close adviser to FDR) – Harry Hopkins (close adviser to FDR) – Frances Perkins (FDR’s Labor Secretary, first female U.S. Cabinet member) – Eleanor Roosevelt – Winston Churchill – Josef Stalin – Adolf Hitler – Douglas MacArthur – Dwight Eisenhower

In none of these cases do I claim to have uncovered the best biography of the individuals I have listed. But Eisenhower will be covered as part of my journey through the best presidential biographies in approximately 5 weeks!

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42 thoughts on “the best biographies of franklin d. roosevelt”.

October 1, 2016 at 9:58 pm

One more for you to consider on FDR, if you’re inclined to keep reading about him, as a history teacher, avid reader, and unabashed fan of both TR and FDR, this is one of my favorites about either of them

David Bloom

PS-great blog!!

http://amzn.to/2dTnq9J

October 6, 2016 at 3:18 pm

I’m creating a “follow-up” list to go back and read once I finish my first tour through the presidents. I’ll have to check this book out – both TR and FDR were fascinating!

October 4, 2016 at 9:09 pm

I can tell you really enjoyed FDR. He’s not my favorite, but I enjoyed your reviews.

October 6, 2016 at 5:11 am

Yes, I found him quite intriguing / fascinating – but for a variety of reasons he’s not my favorite president either. Nevertheless, he makes for a great biographical subject!

October 6, 2016 at 8:11 am

There’s no doubt that he was larger than life, and, for better or worse, highly influential.

October 6, 2016 at 12:27 pm

Just started Jean Edward Smith’s bio on your recommendation, and I’ve got No Ordinary Time on the bookshelf. Looking forward to both.

Did you happen to watch Ken Burns’ documentary on the Roosevelts? Well done and engrossing, even though I know a lot about FDR, eleanor, and TR.

October 6, 2016 at 3:22 pm

My fingers are crossed that you like the JES and DKG books! I saw the Burns documentary shortly after I finished up Teddy Roosevelt last summer (has it really been that long!?!) I watched it as I did some painting in the house…and as I recall I really liked the documentary and I really did not enjoy the painting.

October 8, 2016 at 2:42 pm

Reblogged this on Practically Historical .

February 23, 2017 at 10:40 pm

One recommendation I would make for the supporting cast section would be Harold Ickes, Roosevelt’s Secretary of the Interior. T.H. Watkins’s biography of Ickes, “Righteous Pilgrim,” is lengthy but fantastic. I became interested in Ickes after his appearances in Caro’s years of Lyndon Johnson series, and the Watkins biography is a fantastic and interesting read.

February 24, 2017 at 5:18 am

Thanks – I’d never considered him since he didn’t feature too prominently in any of the biographies I read (though I do remember him). I’ll have to look into the bio you reference – I don’t mind “lengthy” but I do LOVE “fantastic”!

July 17, 2017 at 7:26 pm

Agreed with Mr. Seig. I have the book he references, just haven’t gotten around to it. I do recommend the three volume “The Secret Diary of Harold Ickes.” It goes from the beginning of FDR’s presidency through the end of 1941. I think you would find it interesting, and FDR is featured quite a bit as Ickes writes at length about his meetings and interactions with the man.

January 12, 2018 at 6:00 am

In regards to the supporting cast, may I recommend “American Dreamer: A Life of Henry A. Wallace”? Wallace was an important supporting player to both FDR and Truman, and “American Dreamer” is one of the best biographies I have ever read.

(Interesting trivia note: one of the book’s authors, John Culver, was a U.S. Senator from Iowa and is the father of former Governor Chet Culver.)

January 12, 2018 at 7:29 am

Thanks for the suggestion. Given how frequently Wallace appeared in the biographies I read (though never as a particularly influential figure) I was surprised to find I didn’t already have some biography of him on my list. That has been rectified!

The biography you recommended looks great and your endorsement is noted! Not sure when I’ll get to it (!) but it’s in the queue!

January 13, 2018 at 12:45 am

I think Wallace tends to get a bit of short shrift in a lot of works because of his postwar marginalization, but he was a pretty big deal in his day. As Secretary of Agriculture, he ranked right up there in influence with Ickes, Perkins, and Hopkins (he ran AAA and all its subsidiaries, as well as a whole host of other alphabet agencies like the FSA and FRC, and controlled many of the CCC projects) and as Vice President he was placed in charge of the Board of Economic Warfare, which essentially made him the potentate of the planned economy for most of WWII. He also came very, very close to keeping his job in ’44 (and Culver and Hyde do an excellent job of retelling the the machinations at the convention that year), which of course would have made him President.

January 13, 2018 at 11:11 am

I always love reading great biographies of interesting subjects, so “American Dreamer” seems like it has the potential to be well worthwhile from what I can tell!

January 13, 2018 at 2:08 pm

The Man He Became seems like a worthy mention. Though I am yet to read it. Thanks for this wonderful project though, some great biographies of some great men.

February 20, 2018 at 1:54 pm

question for anybody that has read it.Some books don’t go into much depth about Roosevelts death.Jean Smith’s talks about Roosevelts death but not much other than that in depth like his funeral,etc.Is FDR’s funeral train By Robert Klara the best one if you want to read more about his death,funeral in Washington,Hyde Park,etc? John

March 21, 2018 at 10:16 pm

Has anybody read the biography on FDR called Man of Destiny By Alonzo Hamby to tell me for a birth to death bio if it is one of the better ones?

April 7, 2018 at 12:32 pm

Please consider Rightful Heritage by Brinkley. It’s informative and enjoyable.

April 11, 2018 at 6:10 am

Thanks – looks like a table of contents I would have expected for TR, not FDR!

April 11, 2018 at 8:22 am

There is a new one I have come across(Most say Jean Smith’s is the best) but is anybody familiar with or read Man of Destiny By Alonzo Hamby to offer an opinion?

April 26, 2018 at 11:07 am

I found this a very helpful round-up of the literature on fdr. As a liberal, I share the perspective of the fdr biogs I have read. Given, however, the vituperation of fdr at the time I would like to read an intelligent devil’s advocate biog/analysis of his career/presidency from the right/republican wing. Does such a text, with an emphasis on intelligent, exist? Thanks for any help, Mike

April 26, 2018 at 11:42 am

I love the question & your approach, but don’t know the answer off the top of my head. However, there are a number of frequent visitors to this site who have read widely and may have insight – I’ll see whether they can be of help and, if not, I’ll see what I can find out-

December 11, 2018 at 7:38 pm

Have a question about The Geoffrey Ward Series which I am thinking about reading.Since it only goes from 1882-1928 what would be a good book that would compliment his series very well as a third book to go with it?Would perhaps Freidel’s Rendezvous With Destiny be the best far as covering 1928-1945 for a final volume?

December 13, 2018 at 8:21 am

I’m struggling a bit to give you a good answer (since there is…no great answer).

I think Freidel’s book is a reasonable choice to address your issue, and if you want to read the Ward series with a supplemental biography I don’t know there’s a better way to go.

But I DO think it’s worth reading his first two volumes – I recall enjoying them immensely and really wishing he had pressed on.

August 22, 2019 at 8:00 pm

for the war years on FDR has anybody read Nigel Hamilton’s to say wether they are as good or better than James Macgregor Burns second book on the war years?Also far as the traditional biographies other than Smith is Conrad Black’s also one of the better full life bio’s?

February 28, 2020 at 5:34 pm

I am on the brink of buying Franklin D. Roosevelt by Robert Dallek! I thought maybe you had something to say about this one, but no:) Thanks for the reviews – was interesting to read what to look for next!!!

February 28, 2020 at 5:59 pm

Yes, unfortunately Dallek’s bio came out the year after I got through FDR but I’m going to try to get to it in the 12 months or so. If you do read it before me I’d love to hear what you think about it!

August 23, 2020 at 9:29 pm

Great list! I wish I could read as quickly as you, alas I will settle for just picking one or two books for each president, with plenty of side journeys. Speaking of side journeys, what about JM Keynes (I recommend The Price of Peace) for a wonderful and worthwhile character of FDR’s life? OK fair enough, FDR probably has too many great characters of history to name LaGuardia, Moses, Rockefellers, Morgan, Teddy R, Elenor come to mind as well.

Love your list/blog! Thank you

August 24, 2020 at 5:09 am

Thanks for the note and, most importantly, the recommendation! Keynes never featured super-prominently in the biographies I read, but he was clearly important to the era and its challenges. Carter’s book on Keynes looks interesting. I’ll have to look a little more deeply to make sure it doesn’t veer too far off track in its back half (I’ve heard it leaves Keynes behind and focuses on economic challenges after his death) but I might have to try to work it into my schedule!

September 13, 2020 at 10:21 am

I have just recently come across your blog. Magnificent piece of work. I look forward to learning a lot from you. Regarding FDR, have you ever had the chance to read Kenneth S. Davis’s 5 volumes? Unfortunately the series stops with the Casablanca conference due to Davis’s death. It can be dense reading at times but the mini essays cover an enormous range of subjects.

September 13, 2020 at 10:29 am

Welcome aboard – glad you found the site and hope you find it helpful! Far above and beyond the reviews themselves, I find that people’s comments are often tremendously. I’ve not read the Davis series yet but it is definitely on my “follow-up” list to read. I’ve not heard a great deal about it, but what I’ve heard is that is indispensable for anyone who really wants to know FDR, and your added color is greatly appreciated! I am always disappointed when a series is abruptly halted, but this one seems to cover enough ground and contain enough intrinsic merit that it’s a “can’t miss.”

October 4, 2020 at 4:47 am

I heartily endorse Ken Davis’ five volume series as well. I’m halfway through “The Beckoning of Destiny, 1882-1928” (1971) and will probably read the succeeding volumes straight through. (They can be tough to locate however. I found all five for $3 or so in used bookstores.)

September 25, 2020 at 4:44 am

If I only had time to read one book of FDR and then move on for sometime to other reading, what might you recommend?

September 25, 2020 at 5:00 am

Probably “FDR” by Jean Edward Smith.

September 26, 2020 at 5:49 am

August 3, 2021 at 7:33 pm

Thanks for sharing your insights. I’m reading Jonathan Dimbleby’s ‘Battle of the Atlantic’, and that has left me wanting to learn more about FDR. So your thoughts and recommendations have been very useful.

December 6, 2021 at 3:44 pm

Thank you for this great resource. In your opinion, which book covers the inner politics of his court and the politics of the day? It would appear maybe Burns, Schlesinger, or Mr. Black?

Thank you for making this easy on readers!

December 6, 2021 at 3:55 pm

That’s a tougher question that you might imagine -since it has been five years since I plowed through FDR! But here’s what I can tell you off the top of my head: (i) for me, the best *overall* treatment of FDR was by Jean Edward Smith, but (ii) the most focused book on the politics of the Supreme Court during his presidency was probably Shesol’s and (iii) the most thorough analysis of the “times” but *not* FDR’s presidency may well have been the Schlesinger series while the most lengthy (by far) was Conrad Black’s.

For better insight into that question, though, you might peruse the tables of contents – I believe Amazon provides the TOC for each. Ironically, I’ll be starting another biography of FDR tomorrow: Robert Dallek’s “Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Political Life.”

December 7, 2021 at 12:19 pm

Yes I saw Dallek’s was on your list! Thank you very much for your response. Happy reading!

August 20, 2023 at 6:10 am

Hi, I am fascinated by Naval History and I came across the biography of William Leahy by Phillips O’Brian. I was impressed by his relationship with FDR and I am going to read a biography of FDR based on your recommendations. I was wondering if you too had the chance to read Leahy biography and if yes I would be interested in your opinion.

Best regards Cesare Pedrali (Italy)

August 20, 2023 at 6:16 am

I’m somewhat familiar with William Leahy, but have not read O’Brian’s biography of him (or anyone else’s, for that matter). Because there is no “page preview” associated with this book on one of the popular book-buying sites, I couldn’t access the table of contents or any of the inside text to see how intrigued I would be. I’ll be interested to see if anyone else has thoughts / comments on this…

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clock This article was published more than  10 years ago

The Fix’s list of best presidential biographies

Happy President's Day!

In late 2012, we put together a list of the best presidential biographies for each of the 43 presidents -- based almost exclusively on reader submissions. That list is below. Enjoy!

* George Washington:   Washington: A Life , by Ron Chernow;  His Excellency: George Washington , by Joseph J. Ellis.

* John Adams:   John Adams , by David McCullough;  Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams , by Joseph J. Ellis.

* Thomas Jefferson:   Jefferson and His Time , by Dumas Malone;  American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson , by Joseph J. Ellis;  Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power , by Jon Meacham.

* James Madison:   James Madison: A Biography , by Ralph Ketchem.

* James Monroe:  The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness , by Harlow Giles Unger.

* John Quincy Adams:   John Quincy Adams (The American Presidents Series) , by Robert V. Remini.

* Andrew Jackson:   American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House , by Jon Meacham;  The Life of Andrew Jackson , by Robert V. Remini.

* Martin Van Buren:  Martin Van Buren (The American Presidents Series) , by Ted Widmer;  Martin Van Buren : The Romantic Age of American Politics , by John Niven.

* William Henry Harrison:  William Henry Harrison (The American Presidents Series)  by Gail Collins;  Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Times , by Freeman Cleaves.

* John Tyler:  John Tyler (The American Presidents Series) , by Gary May; John Tyler:  Champion of the Old South , by Oliver P. Chitwood.

* James K. Polk:   The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America , by Walter R. Borneman.

* Zachary Taylor:   Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest , by K. Jack Bauer.

* Millard Fillmore:  Millard Fillmo re: Biography of a President , by Robert J. Rayback

* Franklin Pierce:  Franklin Pierce (The American Presidents Series) , by Michael Holt.

* James Buchanan:  President James Buchanan: A Biography , by Philip S. Klein.

* Abraham Lincoln:  Lincoln , by David Herbert Donald;  Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln , by Doris Kearns Goodwin;  With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln , by Stephen B. Oates;  Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years , by Carl Sandburg;  Abraham Lincoln , by Lord Charnwood.

* Andrew Johnson:   Andrew Johnson (The American Presidents Series) , by Annette Gordon-Reed.

* Ulysses S. Grant:  Grant , by Jean Edward Smith;  Grant: A Biography , by William S. McFeeley.

* Rutherford B. Hayes:   Rutherford B. Hayes , by Hans Trefousse (The American Presidents Series);  Rutherford B. Hayes, and his America , by Harry Barnard.

* James Garfield:   Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President , by Candice Millard.

*Chester Arthur:  Chester Alan Arthur (The American Presidents Series) , by Zachary Karabell;  Gentleman Boss: The Life of Chester Alan Arthur , by Thomas C. Reeves.

* Grover Cleveland (the 22nd and 24th president):  Grover Cleveland: A Study in Character , by Alyn Brodsky;  Grover Cleveland (The American Presidents Series) , by Henry F. Graff.

* Benjamin Harrison:  Benjamin Harrison (The American Presidents Series) , by Charles W. Calhoun;  Benjamin Harrison: Hoosier statesman , by Harry Joseph Sievers.

* William McKinley:  Presidency of William McKinley , by Lewis. L. Gould.

* Theodore Roosevelt:  Edmund Morris's Theodore Roosevelt Trilogy ;  Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt , by David McCullough.

* William Howard Taft:  The Life & Times of William Howard Taft , by Harry F. Pringle.

* Woodrow Wilson:  Woodrow Wilson: A Biography , by John Milton Cooper Jr.

* Warren G. Harding:   The Shadow of Blooming Grove: Warren G. Harding in His Times , by Francis Russell;  Warren G. Harding (The American Presidents Series) , by John W. Dean.

* Calvin Coolidge:  Coolidge, An American Enigma , by Robert Sobel.

* Herbert Hoover:  Herbert Hoover (The American Presidents Series) , by William E. Leuchtenburg.

*Franklin Roosevelt:   Franklin D. Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom , by Conrad Black;  No Ordinary Time , by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

*Harry S. Truman:   Truman , by David McCullough;  Harry S. Truman (The American Presidents Series) , by Robert Dallek.

*Dwight D. Eisenhower:  Eisenhower: Soldier and President , by Stephen E. Ambrose;  Eisenhower in War and Peace , by Jean Edward Smith.

*John F. Kennedy:   A Thousand Days , by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.;  An Unfinished Life , by Robert Dallek.

*Lyndon B. Johnson:   Robert Caro 's multi-volume set;  Robert Dallek 's two-volume set.

*Richard Nixon:   The three-volume set  by Steven Ambrose;  Nixonland , by Richard Perlstein.

*Gerald Ford:   Gerald R. Ford (The American Presidents Series)  by Douglas Brinkley.

*Jimmy Carter:    Jimmy Carter,  by Julian E. Zelizer (The American Presidents Series).

*Ronald Reagan:   President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime , by Lou Cannon;  My Father at 100 , by Ron Reagan, Jr.

*George H.W. Bush:   George H.W. Bush (The American Presidents Series) , by Timothy Naftali.

*Bill Clinton:   First in His Class , by David Maraniss;  The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House , by John F. Harris.

*George W. Bush:   Decision Points (Bush's memoir) ; Days Of Fire by Peter Baker

*Barack Obama:   Barack Obama: The Story , by David Maraniss;  The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama , by David Remnick.