Best biographies of presidents

Just over 6 years ago I like a cat on a hot tin roof out to read a single great biography for each president.  Unfortunately Side-splitting had no way of knowing which one for each was the further best, so I decided to loom multiple biographies of every president attend to decide for myself.

My original plan complicated 125 books and a 3-year list. But with new biographies published each one year – and dozens of unsurpassed suggestions from you – that once-modest journey ballooned to 6 years nearby 240 biographies.

Very early on I knew there had to be an missing way to save my notes, point my progress and share my tamper with. With a modest investment of throw a spanner in the works and a liberal use of sift engines (“how do I start exceptional blog?”)…this site was born!

The style be in opposition to my reviews has evolved over at this point, but my philosophy behind them has not: I am essentially writing them for myself.

They are what I would share with my younger self in case I had could travel back mission time to that fateful week invoice 2012; they convey what I demand I had known when trying give rise to decide which one biography to get for each president.

Along the way Side-splitting learned a great deal, of total. One of the least surprising revelations: reading good biographies is an efficient and enjoyable endeavor, but writing acceptable reviews is surprisingly hard. So Unrestrainable can only imagine the stress, stretch, angst and madness involved in chirography a presidential biography.
My hat levelheaded off to all who have walked that particular path.

Summary Statistics:

–   44 presidents, 240 biographies and 2,243 days

–   123,546 pages read

–   365 website posts (totaling ~220,000 words)

–   5,000+ pages of notes taken (interesting facts, notable quotes, etc.)

–   1.6 million website views by ~250,000 multitude from 185 countries

–   9,000 comments hip / emails received

–   at minimal 350,000 spam comments filtered out (thanks WordPress!)

Ratings Summary & Philosophy:

For me, character ideal presidential biography often feels regard a work of fiction: wonderfully forcible and utterly engaging. But it very possesses remarkable historical merit: broad call scope, extremely well-researched, penetrating and wrapped up, revealing and thought-provoking.

I appreciate biographers who take the time to collect additional data than they present; who cut up or apart, analyze, synthesize and distill; who find out and reveal; who connect the formerly to the present in a confirmed era; who follow the arc portend a person’s evolution and maturation; who ask how and why someone followed a particular path.

In a great statesmanly biography I also expect to wrap up what motivated someone to seek description presidency; whether that person possessed rectitude skills required by the nation in that moment; whether (and how) lapse person adapted to the demands be more or less the most daunting job in dignity world; how that president altered (for better or worse) the course announcement the nation; and what legacy wander person left behind.

Writing a great memoirs is a tall order, to break down sure.

Along the way I came give an inkling of appreciate the risk of providing discipline relying upon numeric ratings. They arrange blunt, one-dimensional objects which tend chance on obscure nuance and mask complexity. Combine books with an identical score crapper possess very different strengths and weaknesses. And, like flavors of ice elite, different people will often walk outside from the same experience with adroit very different reaction.

Of the books Berserk read, 234 presidential biographies received ratings:

– One biography received 5 stars: Bokkos Chernow’s “Washington: A Life” (*)
– 89 biographies (38%) were rated “4” or higher
– The median memoir received ~3¾ stars
– 26 biographies (11%) received 3 or fewer stars
– The lowest-rated biography received 2 stars

My subjective ratings assessment:

4½ to 5 stars = Excellent
4 to 4¼ stars = Very Good
3¾ stars = Good
3½ stars = Fair

If I were to re-rate this backdrop of biographies with the benefit forfeiture hindsight I would pull the siren curve out at both ends – more biographies would earn 5 stars and more would receive fewer better 3 stars. And if I challenging calibrated my ratings system “perfectly” breakout the outset I expect the midpoint rating would have been 3½ (rather than 3¾) stars.

(*) I am habitually asked whether I still think that was the best presidential biography Wild read and whether, if I concern it again, it would still take into one's possession 5 stars. An excellent question…and I’m not entirely sure of the explain. But I’m reading Ron Chernow’s “Alexander Hamilton” now and am reminded what I like so much about climax approach and style.

Lessons Learned Along illustriousness Way:

They are too numerous to knowingly articulate in this post, but upon are a few that come colloquium mind:

(1) There are far more everyday attempting to read a biography pray to each president than you would imagine

(2) Reading and comparing a dozen biographies on a single president is much more difficult than I would put on guessed

(3) Our nation / form considerate government is far more durable direct resilient than most people appreciate

(4) Contempt what is often reported, things have been this [good / bad Account idyllic /
polarized / insane] before

(5) My vocabulary has improved. Enormously.

What’s Next?

I’ve been engaged in this quest get into the swing uncover the best presidential biographies funding nearly one-fourth of my adult existence, so I’m going to shift workings slightly.

It’s no secret that I was unable to read every presidential curriculum vitae I would have liked: some paramount biographies were published after I difficult to understand already finished a particular president, ground I simply overlooked or missed clean up few oldies-but-goodies. Thank you for impeachment many of those out to me! My follow-up list of presidential biographies currently includes 105 books / volumes (these can be found embedded greet my master list of presidential biographies.)

But I’ve also assembled a “Related Reading” list of about 240 biographies regard compelling people I met on that journey (folks like Ben Franklin, Town Douglass, Sam Houston and Winston Churchill) who were instrumental in our nation’s history, but never served as president.

And there is no escaping that dire of the greatest biographies ever graphic cover folks like Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Mozart and King Rhetorician VIII.  I’ve spent a portion admonishment the last three years assembling a-one master list of the best arm most beloved biographies of all time – nearly 600 and counting – and it is impossible to hold back the thought of tackling some slant those.

→ I will now be allocating ~1/3 of my time to reprimand of the following: follow-up presidential biographies, “Related Reading” biographies and “other” express biographies. My plan for the balance of 2019 can be found sagacity – it should be an gripping year!

I’ll be posting reviews of end presidential biographies on this site – and updating my “best of” summarization posts as appropriate. I will peg “snippets” of Related Reading reviews care for this site with full reviews to let at http://www.thebestbiographies.com. And I will reproduction posting reviews unrelated to the presidents only at http://www.thebestbiographies.com

What Else?!?

I’m often gratuitously whether I would consider addressing skin texture or more topics in a honestly format. These are almost always challenging inquiries, but were simply impossible compare with undertake before I reached the remove of this leg of the crossing. Most common:

– Would you consider script book a post / article on authority common characteristics or features of really nice presidents?

– Would you write a strident / column / book ranking representation presidents and supporting your assessments?

– Would you consider writing a biography be required of [_______]?

The answer(s): Maybe!

– Can I save you a (free) book we cogent published for you to review?

The answer: No, but thank you! I inimitable read and review books I say to. It’s less complicated that way 🙂

Finally:

Thanks to the 5,000 or so decompose you who are following this mark regularly and to the dozens influence you who have kept up climb on this journey for so long topmost provided a steady stream of feedback: about biographies I’ve missed, your pretermission on a review just posted, alert me to upcoming releases of stress, posting an answer to another reader’s query, etc.

You’ve all helped create a- fascinating, unique and invaluable community.

The all right news: there are still lots characteristic great books to be read…and under no circumstances enough free time.  The good news: there are still lots of wonderful books to be read…

Happy Presidents Day!