presidential biography list

U.S. Presidents

George Washington: 10 Quotes From the United States' First President

The Founding Father and Continental Army commander shared some of his greatest wisdom through his words in letters and speeches.

John F. Kennedy

Donald Trump

Barack Obama

Ronald Reagan

Lyndon B. Johnson

Abraham Lincoln

James Madison

How Ronald Reagan Went from Movies to Politics

Teddy Roosevelt’s Stolen Watch Recovered by FBI

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Thomas Jefferson

A Car Accident Killed Joe Biden’s Wife and Baby

These Are the Major 2024 Presidential Candidates

Oppenheimer and Truman Met Once. It Went Badly.

Who Killed JFK? You Won’t Believe Us Anyway

Jimmy Carter

Inside Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s 77-Year Love

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Biographies of the U.S. Presidents

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List of U.S. Presidents in Chronological Order

There have been 46 presidents of the United States. The youngest president was John F. Kennedy at age 43. The oldest is Joe Biden at age 78. The longest-serving president was Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died shortly into his fourth term in office. (The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, limited to two the number of presidential terms one person could serve.) The shortest serving president was William Henry Harrison, who died from pneumonia after a month in office.

List of u.s. Presidents in order

• George Washington (1789–97) : George Washington is a well-known historical figure and was the first president of the United States of America after leading the Continental army in a victory for independence. Read more about George Washington .
• John Adams (1797-1801) : John Adams served as the vice president to George Washington before going on to become the second president of the United States of America. Later his son, John Quincy Adams was also president. Read more about John Adams .
• Thomas Jefferson (1801-09) : Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States of America and was responsible for the purchase of Louisiana and American Western Expansion . He served as president for two terms. Read more about Thomas Jefferson .
• James Madison (1809-17) : James Madison was the fourth president of the United States of America. He is often touted as the father of the Constitution . Read more about James Madison .
• James Monroe (1817-25)
• John Quincy Adams (1825-29) : John Quincy Adams was the son of John Adams who served as Washington’s vice president and as President. He was the sixth president of the United States. Read more about John Quincy Adams .
• Andrew Jackson (1829-37) : He was known as Old Hickory for his strength of character. Despite modern criticisms over his handling of the North American Indians and his pro-slavery stance, he is otherwise regarded as a great defender of democracy who kept America united over as difficult period of time. Read more about Andrew Jackson .
• Martin Van Buren (1837-41)
• William Henry Harrison (1841)
• John Tyler (1841-45)
• James K. Polk (1845-49)
• Zachary Taylor (1849-50)
• Millard Fillmore (1850-53)
• Franklin Pierce (1853-57)
• James Buchanan (1857-61)
• Abraham Lincoln (1861-65) : Abraham Lincoln led the nation through its most trying time, the Civil War. A notable statesman and orator, he is one of the most popular presidents in history. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth . Read more about Abraham Lincoln .
• Andrew Johnson (1865-69) : Andrew Johnson was the 17th president of the United States of America and born in 1808. He took over the presidency after Lincoln was shot and killed. Read more about Andrew Johnson .
• Ulysses S. Grant (1869-77)
• Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)
• James Garfield (1881)
• Chester Arthur (1881-85)
• Grover Cleveland (1885-89)
• Benjamin Harrison (1889-93)
• Grover Cleveland (1893-97)
• William McKinley (1897-1901)
• Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09) : Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th president of the United States of America. He is known for his work on the Square Deal, on environmental projects and for leading the progressive movement through the creation of the Progressive Party, a third political body. Read more about Theodore Roosevelt .
• William Howard Taft (1909-13)
• Woodrow Wilson (1913-21) : Woodrow Wilson led the country through World War I and was pivotal in the creation of the League of Nations, the foundation to today’s United Nations. Read more about Woodrow Wilson . 
• Warren Harding (1921-23)
• Calvin Coolidge (1923-29)
• Herbert Hoover (1929-33) : Herbert Hoover was the 31st president of the United States of America. Before becoming president he was head of the Food Administration. He was president during the Great Stock Market crash of 1929. Read more about Herbert Hoover .
• Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-45) : After graduating from Harvard, Roosevelt went on to marry Eleanor and have 6 children. He served as Secretary of the Navy and Governor of New York before becoming President of the USA. Read more about Franklin D. Roosevelt .
• Harry S. Truman (1945-53) : Harry S. Truman became the President of the US after Roosevelt died in office and was re-elected for a second term. He made the decision to release the atomic bomb over Japan. Read more about Harry S. Truman .
• Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-61) : Eisenhower became the Chief Military in aid to General MacArthur and was elevated by Roosevelt to Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. He was successful with many strategies against Germany in WWII. Read more about Dwight D Eisenhower .
• John F. Kennedy (1961-63) : John F. Kennedy could perhaps be one of the most famous presidents the United States has had. On 11/22/1963, he was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. Read more about John F. Kennedy .
• Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-69) : Lyndon Johnson or LBJ was the 36th president of the United States of America and started his term after JFK was assassinated in 1963. He helped with Medicare and Medicaid. Read more about Lyndon B. Johnson .
• Richard Nixon (1969-74) : Richard Nixon was the 37th president of the United States of America. Though he passed many important and necessary changes he is most known for the Watergate Scandal . Read more about Richard Nixon .
• Gerald Ford (1974-77)
• James Carter (1977-81)
• Ronald Reagan (1981-89) : Ronald Reagan was a fairly well-known actor before he ran and was elected for the President of the United States of America two terms in a row. Read more about Ronald Reagan .
• George H.W. Bush (1989-93) : George H. W. Bush was the 41st president of the United States and a Republican. During his presidency the Soviet Union dissolved, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and Noriega lost dictatorship of Panama. Read more about George H.W. Bush .
• William J. Clinton (1993-2001) : Bill Clinton was the 42nd president of the United States of America and then served two terms. His wife, Hillary Clinton also served as very important political figure. Read more about Bill Clinton .
• George W. Bush (2001-09)
• Barack Obama (2009-2017)
• Donald  J. Trump (2017-2021)
• Joe Biden (2021–present)

Biographies of US Presidents

• White House biographies
• Biographies from the Miller Center
• Biographies from PBS
• Biographies from Biography.com
• Books of Presidential Biographies
• List of biographies from the Library of Congress
• Biographical Sketches from the National Park Service

PresidentsUSA.net has a page for each President that contains a section of biographies specific to that President. The menu at right links to those pages.

• George Washington
• Thomas Jefferson
• James Madison
• James Monroe
• John Quincy Adams
• Andrew Jackson
• Martin Van Buren
• William Henry Harrison
• James K. Polk
• Zachary Taylor
• Millard Fillmore
• Franklin Pierce
• James Buchanan
• Abraham Lincoln
• Andrew Johnson
• Ulysses S. Grant
• Rutherford B. Hayes
• James Garfield
• Chester Arthur
• Grover Cleveland
• Benjamin Harrison
• William McKinley
• Theodore Roosevelt
• William Howard Taft
• Woodrow Wilson
• Warren Harding
• Calvin Coolidge
• Herbert Hoover
• Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Harry Truman
• Dwight Eisenhower
• John F. Kennedy
• Lyndon Johnson
• Richard Nixon
• Gerald Ford
• Jimmy Carter
• Ronald Reagan
• George Bush
• Bill Clinton
• George W. Bush
• Barack Obama
• Donald Trump

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Main Content

The Presidents

Biographies & Portraits

George Washington

Thomas Jefferson

James Madison

James Monroe

John Quincy Adams

Andrew Jackson

Martin Van Buren

William Henry Harrison

James K. Polk

Zachary Taylor

Millard Fillmore

Franklin Pierce

James Buchanan

Abraham Lincoln

Andrew Johnson

Ulysses S. Grant

Rutherford B. Hayes

James A. Garfield

Chester A. Arthur

Grover Cleveland

1885-1889, 1893-1897

Benjamin Harrison

William McKinley

Theodore Roosevelt

William Howard Taft

Woodrow Wilson

Warren G. Harding

Calvin Coolidge

Herbert Hoover

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Harry S. Truman

Dwight D. Eisenhower

John F. Kennedy

Lyndon B. Johnson

Richard M. Nixon

Gerald R. Ford

Jimmy Carter

Ronald Reagan

George H. W. Bush

William J. Clinton

George W. Bush

Barack Obama

Donald J. Trump

Joseph R. Biden Jr.

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• The White House - Richard M. Nixon
• The White House - Biography of Theodore Roosevelt
• The White House - Biography of John Tyler
• The White House - Biography of William Howard Taft
• The White House - Biography of Warren G. Harding
• The White House - Biography of William Henry Harrison
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• Official Site of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
• National Park Service - James Abram Garfield: 1831-1881
• The White House - Biography of Ronald Reagan
• The White House - Biography of Woodrow Wilson
• The White House - Biography of Chester A. Arthur
• The White House - James K. Polk
• USHistory.org - The Evolution of the Presidency
• Official Site of the President Benjamin Harrison Home
• The White House - Biography of Abraham Lincoln
• The White House - Biography of James Monroe
• The White House - Benjamin Harrison
• The White House - Biography of Ulysses S. Grant
• Official Site of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum
• The White House - James Garfield
• The White House - Biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt
• The White House - Biography of John Quincy Adams
• The White House - Biography of George Washington
• The White House - Biography of Rutherford B. Hayes
• The White House - Biography of John Adams
• National Geographic Kids - Presidential Fun Facts
• The Nobel Prize - Biography of Woodrow Wilson
• The White House - Biography of Herbert Hoover
• The White House - Biography of Martin Van Buren
• The White House - Biography of William McKinley
• The White House - Biography of Franklin Pierce
• The White House - Biography of John F. Kennedy
• The White House - Biography of Andrew Jackson
• The White House - Biography of William J. Clinton
• Table Of Contents

The table provides a list of U.S. presidents.

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The table provides a list of U.S. electoral college results.

Chart of the Presidents and Vice Presidents

United States Presidents and Vice Presidents

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Since 1789 and the election of George Washington, America's first president, 45 individuals have served as the chief executive of the United States ( Grover Cleveland was elected for two nonconsecutive terms, so he served as the 22nd and 24th president).

The unamended Constitution mandated that a president would serve for four years. Originally, it did not state if there was to be a limit on the number of terms to which they could be elected. However, President Washington set a precedent of only serving two terms which was followed until November 5, 1940, when Franklin Roosevelt was elected for a third term. He would go on to win a fourth before dying in office. The 22nd Amendment was passed soon afterward that would limit presidents to only serving two terms or 10 years .  

Below is a list of presidents and vice presidents and their parties , plus links to their biographies and their terms in office.

Chart of the Presidents and Vice-Presidents

Further Reading on U.S. Presidents

You might also be interested in reading about what presidents are on the bills  of U.S. currency. 

“Presidents.”   The White House. The United States Government.

“ The 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution .”  National Constitution Center .

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My Journey Through the Best Presidential Biographies

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• BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

The Best Presidential Biographies For History Buffs

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

• Photo Credit: Wikipedia

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?

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• Presidential Documents

The American Presidency Project  A study of the American presidency established in 1999 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The site offers 104,792 documents related to the study of the presidency.

American President: A Reference Resource This site from the Miller Center at the University of Virginia gives biographical information about each of the presidents, a speech archive, and classroom resources.

"Escorting a Presidency into History: NARA's Role in a White House Transition"  Nancy Kegan Smith's Prologue article describes how NARA collects transfers hundreds of millions of textual, electronic, and audiovisual records, and tens of thousands of presidential and vice presidential gifts.

POTUS: Presidents of the United States Biographies of the presidents. Includes "background information, election results, cabinet members, notable events, and some points of interest on each of the presidents."

Presidential Libraries Information about presidential libraries and the documents they maintain. Includes links to all of the presidential libraries administered by the National Archives.

"The Presidential Libraries Act after 50 Years"  Raymond Geselbracht and Timothy Walch discuss legislation that provided for the establishment of presidential libraries in this Prologue article.

The Presidents This website from PBS provides documentaries on nine of the 20th-Century presidents. Also included are biographies of all of the presidents, articles, interviews, photographs, and educational resources.

Public Papers of the Presidents The Public Papers of the Presidents are available online through the Government Printing Office (GPO) beginning with George H.W. Bush in 1991. They contain papers and speeches of the President that were issued by the Office of the Press Secretary, presented in chronological order.

"School House to White House: The Education of the Presidents" This Prologue article describes a NARA exhibit that reveals the report cards, homework, athletic prowess, and musical abilities of our modern presidents when they were students.

"Standing in for the President" This Prologue article by W. Dale Nelson looks at the role of the Presidents' press secretaries.

Facts, Firsts and Precedents The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies provides interesting pieces of information about presidential inaugurations.

History of Presidential Inaugurals In this 1993 C-Span interview, Philip Brooks discusses memorial presidential inaugurations.

"I Do Solemnly Swear...": Presidential Inaugurations This Library of Congress American Memory site is a collection of approximately 2000 digital files from all of the inaugurations from George Washington's in 1791 to the latest.

Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the U.S. Lists the presidents in chronological order.

Inauguration History Quiz  This inauguration quiz is presented by the Washington Post.

Presidential Inaugurals: Historical Perspective  A transcript of the PBS show in which the NewsHour's historians Michael Beschloss, Haynes Johnson, Steven Ambrose, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Roger Wilkins talk to Margaret Warner about the history of inaugurations.

Presidential Inaugurations Quiz  Test your knowledge about past Presidential inaugurations in this activity, designed by the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library.

Records of Presidential Inaugural Committees Record Group 274, 1933-1989. Held at the National Archives.

Order of Succession

"Abrupt Transition" This article, published in the Winter 2000 issue of Prologue , discusses the change in inauguration fanfare when a Vice President must quickly been sworn into office.

Amendment XXV This site includes the text of the amendment that provides for procedures to fill vacancies in the vice presidency and clarifies presidential succession rules.

Order of Succession Ben's Guide to U.S. Government provides a list of government departments which will provide officials to assume the presidency if necessary, provided they are Constitutionally qualified to assume the office.

Presidential Illness and the 25th Amendment The National Institutes of Health website includes scanned copies of the original print version of this article. It is full of historical facts.

George Washington Papers This Library of Congress website maintains the complete collection of George Washington papers, consisting of 65,000 documents.

Introduction to the Diaries of George Washington This introduction to the nature and history of George Washington's diaries is provided by the Library of Congress.

"The Surprising George Washington" An article by Richard Norton Smith from Prologue looks at the sides of the first President's life that we do not often see.

"Jefferson Buys Louisiana Territory, and the Nation Moves Westward" Prologue article by Wayne T. De Cesar and Susan Page about how the Louisiana Purchase came about.

"Jefferson Looks Westward: President Secretly Sought Funds from Congress to Explore Louisiana Territory, Develop Trade" In this Prologue article, James Worsham reveals that Jefferson planned a expedition to the west even before the Louisiana Purchase was accomplished.

Thomas Jefferson An exhibit at the Library of Congress examines Jefferson's intellectual development using his own writings and other items from the Library's collections.

Thomas Jefferson "A guide to the University of Virginia's collections related to Thomas Jefferson, with additional links to texts and information resources about Jefferson."

Thomas Jefferson and the Patent Act of 1793 From Essays in History published by the Corcoran Department of History at the University of Virginia.

Madison's Treasures The documents in this collection at the Library of Congress are the largest single collection of original Madison documents in existence.

"Where Have You Gone, James Madison?" Archivist Allen Weinstein discusses the relevance of the U.S. Constitution and the thoughts of its leading architect, James Madison in this Prologue article.

Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil, and the Presidency This PBS website includes a documentary video, an interactive timeline, and resources for educators.

Abraham Lincoln Association Organized in 1908 as the Lincoln Centennial Association, this organization is dedicated to furthering the study and research of this President.

The Abraham Lincoln Institute The latest in Lincoln scholarship.

Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress Organized into three "General Correspondence" series, this site includes approximately 20,000 documents.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation This unique institution and its website is devoted to telling the entire life story of the nation's 16th president.

"An Extraordinary President and His Remarkable Cabinet: Doris Kearns Goodwin Looks at Lincoln's Team of Rivals" Ellen Fried's interview with the author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln appeared in Prologue article in Spring of 2006.

Lincoln/Net Primary source materials from Lincoln's Illinois years through his presidency, in a social and political context.

Mr. Lincoln's Virtual Library This site offers selections from two collections at the Library of Congress that illuminate the life of Abraham Lincoln.

The Search for Lincoln's Legal Papers A report in the National Archives publication The Record states that nearly 90,000 documents associated with Lincoln's legal practice have been discovered across the country and accessioned into the collection of the Lincoln Legal Papers project.

Finding Precedent: The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson This site was created by HarpWeek in response to the interest generated by the impeachment of President Clinton. It includes materials from Harper's Weekly relating to the impeachment and trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868.

"Grant, Babcock, and the Whiskey Ring" This Prologue article, published in Fall 2000, discusses Grant's term as President.

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center This website is dedicated to the study of the Hayes presidency.

Selected Bibliography of William McKinley A bibliography provided by the Library of Congress.

"'I am entitled to the Medal of Honor and I want it' : Theodore Roosevelt and His Quest for Glory" This article by Mitchell Yockelson appeared in the Spring 1998 edition of the National Archives publication, Prologue .

Theodore Roosevelt: His Life and Times on Film Produced by the National Digital Library and the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division of the Library of Congress, this site features 104 films from the LOC's holdings which document Teddy Roosevelt's life from 1898 to 1919.

Theodore Roosevelt This site provides information about and links to Roosevelt's publications and autobiography.

Warren G. Harding John Dean discusses his biography of Warren G. Harding on C-Span's Booknotes .

Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation This site is intended "to become the gateway to all things Coolidge."

"'An American Epic:' Herbert Hoover and Belgian Relief in World War I" George H. Nash's Prologue article about the future president's humanitarian actions.

Hoover & Truman: A presidential friendship A joint project of the Truman and Hoover Presidential Libraries, this site highlights the friendship between the two men. Much of the material was collected in a book, "Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman: A Documentary History", edited by Timothy Walch and Dwight M. Miller, copyright 1992 by the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association, Inc.; the book is available electronically on the site.

"The Ordeal of a Biographer: Herbert Hoover Writes about Woodrow Wilson" Prologue article by Timothy Walch.

"The Ordeal of Herbert Hoover" Part I of the Prologue article by Richard Norton Smith and Timothy Walch that details President Hoover's struggles in the White House.

"FDR at 125" To mark the 125th anniversary of FDR's birth on January 30, 1882, Prologue looks at the impact of his presidency and his legacy.

"FDR's Day in Infamy Speech: Crafting a Call to Arms" An article from Prologue , Winter 2001.

"FDR: The President and the High School" Keith W. Olson's article from Prologue describes how the President's interest in architecture led to close involvement in the planning and construction of a high school in Hyde Park.

Fireside Chats of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Transcripts of the Fireside Chats from March 1933 to June 1944.

Franklin D. Roosevelt From an essay by Doris Kearns Goodwin for the PBS program "Character Above All," on the role of character in presidential leadership.

"How Roosevelt Attacked Japan at Pearl Harbor: Myth Masquerading as History" R.J.C. Butow's Prologue article refutes assertions that the President misled the public about the coming of war.

"A 'New' FDR Emerges: Historians, Teachers, Authors Take a Fresh, Sometimes Critical, Look at Roosevelt" Prologue article by Cynthia M. Koch.

"A Notable Passage to China: Myth and Memory in FDR's Family History" This article on Roosevelt family history, by R. J. C. Butow, appeared in the Fall 1999 edition of the National Archives publication, Prologue .

"When FDR Said 'Play Ball:' President Called Baseball a Wartime Morale Booster" Gerald Bazer and Steven Culbertson discuss President Roosevelt's decision to support the continuation of baseball during World War II in this Prologue article.

"Adventures with Grandpa Truman" Clifton Truman Daniel reminisces about his grandfather in this Prologue article.

"A Boy Who Would Be President: Harry Truman at School, 1892–1901" Prologue article by Raymond H. Geselbracht describes Truman's days as a schoolboy through his attendance records and grades at Noland School for the first and second grade, and two of his high school English theme books.

Continuing the Fight: Harry S. Truman and World War II At the Truman Library website, this site contains a "collection of documents, photographs, and eyewitness accounts concerning the latter stages of World War II."

"The First Proposal, or What a Future President of the United States Did When He Was Rejected by the Woman He Loved" In this Prologue article, Raymond H. Geselbracht discusses Harry S. Truman's courtship of Bess Wallace.

Harry S. Truman From an essay by David McCullough for the PBS program "Character Above All," on the role of character in presidential leadership.

"Harry Truman, Poker Player" Raymond H. Geselbracht's article about Truman's love of poker appeared in the Spring 2003 issue of Prologue .

"Harry Truman's History Lessons" In this Prologue article, Samuel W. Rushay, Jr. examines the way the 33rd President used history to make some of the important decision of the post-World War II era.

" Independence and the Opening of the West : Harry S. Truman, Thomas Hart Benton, And the Making of the Mural " Raymond H. Geselbracht describes the creation of the mural for the Harry S. Truman Library in this Prologue article.

"Mutual Admiration and a Few Jokes: The Correspondence of Harry Truman with Groucho and Harpo Marx" Raymond H. Geselbracht's Prologue article highlights Truman's correspondence with the Marx Brothers.

"'The President Is Very Acutely Ill:' Harry S. Truman's Illness of July 1952" Prologue article by Samuel W. Rushay, Jr.

Speeches of Harry S. Truman Audio and transcripts of many of Truman's speeches from 1939 to 1953.

Dwight D. Eisenhower From an essay by Stephen Ambrose for the PBS program "Character Above All," on the role of character in presidential leadership.

Dwight D. Eisenhower: A Resource Guide Bibliography compiled by the Library of Congress.

"Eisenhower and the Red Menace" This article, written by Michael J. Birkner for the Fall 2001 issue of Prologue , discusses Eisenhower in the age of Senator Joseph McCarthy's crusade against Communism.

"Ike's Interstates at 50: Anniversary of the Highway System Recalls Eisenhower's Role as Catalyst" David A. Pfeiffer's Prologue article about the creation of one of Eisenhower's lasting achievements as president.

"The Hours before Dallas" This article was written by Jeb Byrne for the National Archives Prologue , Summer 2000 issue.

"'Howdy, Mr. President!'" "UT Arlington Library's Special Collections exhibit 'Howdy, Mr. President!' showcases over 80 intriguing photographs taken by Fort Worth Star-Telegram news photographers. The Star-Telegram JFK collection contains almost 3,000 photo negatives taken during the visit by President John F. Kennedy to Fort Worth and the subsequent events following his assassination in Dallas, November 1963."

John F. Kennedy From an essay by Richard Reeves for the PBS program "Character Above All," on the role of character in presidential leadership.

The Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board: Final Report Document available in PDF format on the NARA website.

The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection The National Archives Assassination Records Collection contains more than 4 and a half million pages of assassination-related records, photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings, and artifacts.

Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy Links to the chapters of the document often called the Warren Report.

"Sixty Years Later, the Story of PT-109 Still Captivates" This article, written by Stephen Plotkin for the Summer 2003 issue of Prologue , describes the sinking of the young Lieutenant Kennedy's Patrol Torpedo boat in the South Pacific during World War II.

Speeches of John Kennedy Text, audio, and video of President Kennedy's speeches. From the Kennedy Presidential Library.

"LBJ Champions the Civil Rights Act of 1964" Prologue article by Ted Gittinger and Allen Fisher.

"LBJ Fights the White Backlash: The Racial Politics of the 1964 Presidential Campaign" This article by Jeremy D. Mayer appeared in the Spring 2001 issue of Prologue .

"LBJ: Still Casting a Long Shadow" Harry Middleton discusses President Johnson's legacy in this Prologue article.

Lyndon B. Johnson From an essay by Robert Dallek for the PBS program "Character Above All," on the role of character in presidential leadership.

Selected Speeches & Messages of Lyndon Johnson From the LBJ Presidential Library.

"Listening to Nixon: An Archivist's Reflections on His Work with the White House Tapes" Prologue article by Samuel W. Rushay, Jr.

"Nixon on the Home Front" Prologue article about President Nixon's domestic policies.

The Nixon "Shocks" and U.S.-Japan Strategic Relations, 1969-1974 Paper prepared by Michael Schaller at the University of Arizona.

"The Nixon White House Tapes: The Decision to Record Presidential Conversations" H. R. Haldeman discloses the story behind the decision to record presidential conversations in this  Prologue article.

Nixon's Trip to China The National Security Archive has secured the declassification and release of the documents related to President Nixon's visit to China in February 1972.

Photographing History: Fred J. Maroon and the Nixon Years, 1970-1974 This site gives one photographer's account of President Nixon's years in office.

Richard M. Nixon From an essay by Tom Wicker for the PBS program "Character Above All," on the role of character in presidential leadership.

Richard Nixon Conversations The Miller Center audio and transcripts of recordings from the Nixon Administration, including those related to Watergate.

Gerald R. Ford From an essay by James Cannon for the PBS program "Character Above All," on the role of character in presidential leadership.

Gerald R. Ford: A Selected bibliography A bibliography established by the Ford Presidential Library.

Selected Gerald R. Ford Presidential Speeches and Writings Text of selected speeches of Ford from his administration. Some of the speeches have audio recordings.

Jimmy Carter This PBS site includes the background information on Jimmy Carter used to make a documentary film for American Experience .

Jimmy Carter From an essay by Hendrick Hertzberg for the PBS program "Character Above All," on the role of character in presidential leadership.

Speeches of Jimmy Carter Audio and video of speeches given by Jimmy Carter, presented by the American Presidency Project.

Ronald Reagan From an essay by Peggy Noonan for the PBS program "Character Above All," on the role of character in presidential leadership.

Ronald Reagan and the President's Daily Brief An article from the Studies in Intelligence gives a first-hand account of the CIA's responsibility for giving the President his daily briefing.

"'Tear Down This Wall:' How Top Advisers Opposed Reagan's Challenge to Gorbachev - But Lost" Peter Robinson tells the story behind one of Ronald Reagan's most notable speeches in this Prologue article.

George Bush From an essay by Michael R. Beschloss for the PBS program "Character Above All," on the role of character in presidential leadership.

Papers of George Bush Organized by year, these papers are also searchable by topic.

Biography of William Jefferson Clinton Provides a succinct description of the life and accomplishments of William Clinton.

Biography of George W. Bush Summary of the life and accomplishments of the 43rd President of the United States from the White House web page.

Biography of Barack H. Obama Summary of the life and accomplishments of the 44th President of the United States from the White House web page.

The Dolley Madison Project A complete on-line edition of her existing letters as a fully searchable digital archive. Dolley Madison was the first First Lady to serve in Washington, D.C.

The First Ladies of the U.S.A. Links to biographical information about each First Lady, including portraits. Published by the White House Historical Association.

National First Ladies' Library The website for the first and only facility of its kind, its purpose is to educate the world about the contributions of the First Ladies and other important women in history.

"Young Bess in Hats" In this Prologue article, Raymond H. Geselbracht writes about Bess Wallace before she became Mrs. Harry Truman.

Chas Fagan: Presidential Portraits This site complements C-SPAN's television series, "American Presidents: Life Portraits."

Chronological List of Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents of the United States This list from the Library of Congress includes portraits of the presidents, first ladies, and vice presidents.

Portraits of the Presidents from the National Portrait Gallery This new online exhibit features 61 paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other likenesses of the Presidents.

Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits This Congressional Research Service report describes the pension and benefits granted to former presidents and policy implications.

Salaries and Retirement Benefits of U.S. Presidents and other Federal Government Employees This Internet Public Library website features salary and benefit information for the president, the vice president, and high ranking government officials.

Presidential Documents Online

Federal Digital System (FDsys) The Government Printing Office provides access to official text of various government documents, including Compilation of Presidential Documents , Economic Report of the President , and Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States .

Federal Register This website has links to Executive Orders, Proclamations, and other presidential documents.

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44 Presidential Biographies to Add to Your Reading List

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

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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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.

James Madison: A Biography by Ralph Ketcham—Though rather academic for the lay reader, this book offers a more personal approach to the Father of the Constitution.

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.

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham—Winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize, this book lays bare the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Jackson administration and is definitely one of the most interesting presidential biographies on this list.

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.

John Tyler by Gary May—At little more than two hundred pages, this book offers a concise introduction to this controversial (dare I say treasonous?) president.

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.

Millard Fillmore: The Biography of a President by Robert J. Rayback—In this biography, Rayback places Fillmore in the tumultuous context of the mid-nineteenth century and argues that he has been unfairly dismissed by history.

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.

Lincoln by David Herbert Donald—This biography from a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner chronicles Lincoln’s rise from humble beginnings to the White House.

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.

Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President by Ari Hoogenboom—Rutherford B. Hayes is unlikely to make anyone’s list of favorite presidents, but this book argues that he deserves far greater recognition than has previously been granted him.

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.

Grover Cleveland: A Study in Character by Alyn Brodsky—This comprehensive biography chronicles the life of the only Democrat elected to the presidency between the Civil War and World War I.

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 Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris—Winner of the 1980 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, this is the first in a trilogy that chronicles the life of Teddy Roosevelt. The second book is Theodore Rex and the final volume is Colonel Roosevelt.

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.

Warren G. Harding by John W. Dean—This brief but compelling biography exposes the truths and myths about the man who was arguably America’s worst 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 book argues that Hoover is not quite the passive president he is often portrayed as.

FDR by Jean Edward Smith—This unparalleled biography dives deep into FDR’s complicated private life, his shortcomings as a president, and his celebrated accomplishments.

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.

An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 by Robert Dallek—This national bestseller offers a nuanced portrait of JFK, providing readers with a detailed account of his troubled private life and speculating about how he would have dealt with the Vietnam dilemma had he survived his assassination.

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.

Gerald R. Ford by Douglas Brinkley—This fascinating book argues that Ford, though clumsy at times, was the antidote to Nixon’s toxic reign, never bowing to party politics and challenging the extreme right even when it was unpopular to do so.

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.

Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush by Jon Meacham—This biography draws from personal diaries and the author’s direct access to the former president and his family to paint an intimate portrait of the forty-first president.

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.

Obama: The Call of History by Peter Baker—This unique biography features numerous full-color photographs documenting Obama’s presidency alongside text analysis.

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.

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Jeremy Anderberg • February 14, 2021 • Last updated: June 4, 2021

The 10 Best Biographies of American Presidents

In 2017, I embarked on a project of reading a biography of every American president. Forty-five men and over 25,000 pages later, I finally finished just before Joe Biden assumed the helm. It wasn’t an easy task, and certainly sometimes dull (especially through long parts of the 1800s), but always intriguing and unendingly fascinating. 

As with all biographies, the books were full of life lessons. Though these presidents attained the highest office in the land, they also dealt with obstacles and issues that are universal to the human condition — upbringings that were more or less loving, weighty decisions and crossroads, death and sickness, love and betrayal. They all had personal idiosyncrasies that aided or hindered their rise, and allowed them to do better and worse jobs while in office. The power they held really only amplified and brought into relief the potential and pitfalls we all share, and I found plenty of takeaways from their lives (and highlighted one in particular for each president on my Instagram page ).

At the same time, the biographies also, of course, broadened and enriched my understanding of the course of American history in general, and of the ups, downs, and evolution of this country’s politics in particular. Because of my reading, I’m better able to place the crazy political climate of today into context . 

Though I personally found my reading project a real boon, I doubt there are many who have quite the same appetite for presidential biographies. And that’s quite alright, as you can garner much of the same benefit by reading just a fraction of these books. If you’re interested in reading about the presidency and the remarkable characters who’ve held the office — if you’d like to gain a deeper understanding of our nation and how we got to here — below I present my 10 favorite POTUS biographies. 

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

There have been thousands of books published about George Washington, the first appearing nearly right away after his passing in 1799. Since then, there’s been a steady stream of award-worthy titles and series, including Douglas Southall Freeman’s 7-volume set from the 1950s and James Flexner’s 4-volume treatment which came about a decade later. (Each also has a single-volume abridgement!) So where do you possibly start with the man who set the most important precedents for the office of President of the United States? 

For the modern reader, there’s no doubt that Ron Chernow’s Washington: A Life is where to turn. While Chernow’s books are long and admittedly intimidating (and aren’t exactly easy reads), he’s indisputably a master storyteller who has a knack for cracking the inner psyche of his characters better than nearly any biographer I’ve encountered. Washington inevitably retains some of his stone-like stature, but Chernow chips away at it better than most in order to reveal the human being inside. Washington: A Life is an incredibly rewarding read which will leave you certain that George Washignton was the perfect man to be America’s first president.  

American Sphinx by Joseph Ellis  

Thomas Jefferson has become the poster boy of public opinion’s changing tides in regards to the Founding Fathers. For nearly 200 years he was revered without reservation; but as his relationship with his slaves came to light in the last couple decades, Jefferson has swung the other way almost towards villainy. So which is it, hero or scoundrel? To read any biography of our third president is to understand what an enigma he was; even historians who have spent their careers studying the man have ultimately found him to be, as Merrill Peterson puts it, “impenetrable.” 

Suffice it to say, modern readers have no shortage of options for digging into Thomas Jefferson’s life. I began with Jon Meacham’s The Art of Power , which was a very good place to start. I also found our third president “impenetrable,” though, and so continued on to Joseph Ellis’ fascinating and enlightening American Sphinx . Less a cradle-to-grave biography than a series of essay-like chapters on Jefferson’s life, this book gets at the heart of what has made the man so appealing and, as of late, so pilloried. Inside its pages, you’ll find treasures about character, independence, and America’s contradictory founding legacy. 

Lincoln by David Herbert Donald 

How does someone possibly pick a single book to study up on the most written about man in American history? It’s a tall task, to be sure. Estimates put the number of published books about him at around 16,000, with more and more hitting shelves each year. From dual biographies (of, say, Lincoln and John Brown , or Lincoln and Frederick Douglass ), to his frontier boyhood, to his parenting, and even to his specific speeches, you can find books on just about any aspect of Lincoln’s life and presidency. 

The job of picking a biography among this trove is actually made a little easier when you focus on cradle-to-grave biographies and not those that narrow in on a single element. If you’re looking for a one-volume option, there’s a general consensus among both readers and historians that David Herbert Donald’s Lincoln or Ronald White’s A. Lincoln are where to turn. I read Donald’s work and immensely enjoyed it. Given the enormity of the man, the book’s 600 pages seemed to go by in a flash, and every period of Lincoln’s life is given the proper space — some give too much time to his youth; some give too much to the war years; Donald nailed a perfect balance. 

If a really deep dive is what you’re after, Michael Burlingame’s two-volume Abraham Lincoln: A Life will keep you busy for a while, as will Sidney Blumenthal’s series — of which three of a proposed five volumes are currently done. 

Grant by Ron Chernow

Though ignored and written off for a long time as a bad president, Civil War general-turned-politician Ulysses S. Grant has been re-invigorated in a handful of major biographies in the last decade or so. While there are a number of quality options, Ron Chernow’s epic, 1,000-page Grant is impossible to beat. The best biographies are those that not only reveal their subject, for both good and bad, but also provide a moving and even inspiring reading experience. Grant does that in spades. 

The psychological penetration that Chernow achieves is eye-opening and often rousing. A number of biographers have captured the war years quite well — it was a dramatic period that just isn’t too hard to make exciting and evocative. The real trick is to capture Grant’s eight years as president with the same verve, which the master historian undoubtedly does. As with the other Chernow title on this list, it will take some dedication, but the effort is well worth it. Grant , in my opinion, is Chernow’s best book.  

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris  

America’s most charismatic president has been written about extensively and unendingly since the day he died. It takes a talented writer to fully capture Roosevelt’s energy and vitality — something that only a handful of historians have really done. For the complete picture, you simply cannot beat Edmund Morris’ epic and stirring trilogy: The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Rex, and Colonel Roosevelt . 

In a Top 10 article, however, I didn’t want to officially take up three spots with the trilogy, so I picked the first volume, which details Roosevelt’s path up until the day he became president (a shorter path than any other president; he remains our youngest POTUS). From the very beginning, Morris captures the reader’s attention and brings us breathlessly along from TR’s aristocratic upbringing and meteoric rise in politics, to the heartbreaking loss of his first wife and subsequent time in the literal wilderness, and back again to Washington, DC as a politician with some serious life experience. You could read The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt on its own and get a fuller picture of the man than a lot of one-volume cradle-to-grave bios would offer. And I can pretty much guarantee you’ll be sucked in enough to read the other two volumes.   

It’s worth noting that Candice Millard also captures the strenuosity of Roosevelt in documenting his post-presidency travels to South America in her thrilling book, River of Doubt .   

Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin  

I came to have quite a soft spot for our 27th president, William Howard Taft, after reading about him in Doris Kearns Goodwin’s The Bully Pulpit . Theodore Roosevelt actually gets top billing in the subtitle of this book, but I imagine that has more to do with the publishing marketing machine than the content of the book, which is more about Taft and his relationship with TR. It certainly functions quite well as a biography of Big Bill. 

As Doris Kearns Goodwin often does, she weaves in a number of tangential plot threads, but always comes back to the tender-turned-fraught relationship between TR and Taft. It’s a wonderful read with a compelling narrative and a number of inspiring takeaways. I’m glad Goodwin chose to give William Howard Taft the spotlight here; hardly any other biographers or historians have. 

The Accidental President by AJ Baime

Though David McCullough’s Truman is often cited as one of the great presidential biographies (which it is!), AJ Baime’s more efficient volume is actually the POTUS bio I recommend most to average readers. Distilled into 360 jam-packed pages of inspiring leadership and unbreakable character, Baime shows us that Truman was one of the truly decent men to have held the office of President of the United States. 

Spending the entire first chapter on April 12, 1945 — the day FDR died and Truman became president — Baime sets the scene for how out of his depth the Missouran really was. The reader then gets a bit about Truman’s beginnings, before embarking on the bulk of the book, which focuses on the spring and summer months of 1945 as WWII approached its end on both the European and Pacific fronts. You’ll most certainly come away from The Accidental President with a greater appreciation of who Harry S. Truman really was. 

An Unfinished Life by Robert Dallek

With John Fitzgerald at the center of the Kennedy universe, nearly every member of the family has been studied and written about a number of times — grandparents, parents, children, and all eight of his siblings. The books about them could fill entire shops. Perhaps surprisingly, though, comprehensive biographies of John himself are somewhat of a rarity. A number have been started and abandoned due to uncooperative surviving family members (Jean Kennedy, the final living sibling, died just last year), unclassified top secret documents (much of his presidency, and especially his death, was shrouded in secrecy), and his famously impenetrable inner psyche. 

Robert Dallek penned what I believe to be by far the best treatment of JFK with An Unfinished Life . While unsparing in detailing the flaws of Kennedy’s personal life, Dallek unveiled for the first time the depth of his debilitating medical problems and also offered a well-balanced and dramatic account of his 1,000 days as president. 

One more book worth mentioning in regard to JFK: William Manchester, famed biographer of Winston Churchill, wrote an oft-overlooked account of his death in 1967’s The Death of a President . It doesn’t get the same attention as Manchester’s other books, but is just as expertly written.  

Master of the Senate by Robert Caro

When it comes to the art of presidential biography, there is Robert Caro and there is everyone else. After writing his first (and now classic) biography on New Yorker Robert Moses 50 years ago, Caro has dedicated the decades since to studying the mechanics of power through the inimitable character of Lyndon B. Johnson. 

Through four volumes and more than a few thousand pages , Caro profiles not only Johnson, but also the major characters who surrounded his life and political rise, and even the hardscrabble Texas landscape itself. The best of the series (so far) is a title that can be read on its own: Master of the Senate . This third volume details the years between 1948 and 1957, when Johnson displayed a mastery of the United States Senate not seen before or since. It’s not an easy book to get through, but the prose is often jaw-droppingly good and I can guarantee it’ll be among the more memorable reading experiences of your lifetime. 

Amazingly, Caro has yet to finish his epic series. He’s hard at work on the fifth and final volume, which means that readers only get through Johnson’s first year or so of the presidency. To get the full life in a single volume, Randall Woods’ LBJ is very good. 

Richard Nixon: The Life by John Farrell  

Humans love to not only study and learn from failure, but gawk at it too. Given Nixon’s place in the pantheon of disgraced presidents, there’s been a lot of books about the man. The true task of any Nixon biographer goes beyond presenting the unflinching truth (and uncovering the question of why he did what he did), but also in providing context from his boyhood, innate personality, and learned behaviors to not necessarily inspire sympathy, but at least understanding. No man is one-dimensional, Richard Nixon included. 

The biographer who unveils the true man best, in my opinion, is John Farrell in Richard Nixon: The Life . The narrative is remarkably readable and penetrative; there were, no doubt, clues throughout Nixon’s life that he would be a gifted politician but also a nefarious one, willing to do just about anything in order to win. Farrell certainly doesn’t explain away Nixon’s failures, but he does provide the nuance needed to come away from the book with a more complete picture of our 37th president. Plus, the Watergate drama makes for flat-out gripping reading. 

Keep up with all my presidential reading (and other reading, too) by subscribing to my weekly books newsletter . Coming soon is a roundup of all the bios I read for this project over the last few years. 

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