Recommend a good U.S. Presidential biography, please.

[DipDipDive]

Preferably about FDR, Kennedy, or Eisenhower, but I'm open to suggestions for biographies about any president.

kthnxbye

[Documad]

Why a presidential biography? I ask because I almost never read a straight bio. For instance David Halberstam's The Fifties has a good overview of that era, so it covers 8 years of Eisenhower as president. It's been ages since I read it, but I recall it having easy to read chapters with different topics, so you have a chapter on pop culture stuff like Peyton Place but you also get the Korean War and the preview of Kennedy v. Nixon. And I would never read a bio on FDR but No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin gives you a good sketch of him even though it focuses on his relationship with Churchill, his presidency, and the US homefront during WWII.

I never read straight bios but I have watched that series of American Experience documentaries on presidents (via the library). They had ones on FDR, Nixon, Reagan, etc.

Having said all that, I'm almost done with the Morris books on Teddy Roosevelt. It took me years of reading off and on so I can't recommend them. :p

[DipDipDive]

My brother is attempting to read a biography about every U.S. President before he dies. I was thinking about getting him a couple books for Christmas that will help him chip away at the list.

[Echewta]

I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris, and I have enjoyed it.

So let us begin anew - remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.

[Documad]

If you can find it, I recommend Dark Horse by Kenneth Ackerman. I've only ever seen it at Borders and supposedly there's a copy still in St. Paul. It's about President Garfield and he might be a difficult president to find a book about. I really enjoyed it. He wasn't running for president but got chosen at the convention. He was shot early on. The doctors did a horrible job of trying to dig the bullet out of him -- bad early medicine story. It was a good read.

Grant by William McFeely was also pretty good. It covers the Civil War and his political scandals.

Sadly for your brother, many of the good bios on presidents are put out in multi-book form.

[Bob]

andrew jackson was probably one of the more remarkable us presidents in terms of personality, i'd suggest something about him. apparently he once got into a pistol duel with a guy and let him shoot first. he took the bullet and then shot back and i forget how the story ended and i can't remember if he was president at the time this happened but basically the guy was such a badass that he let a guy shoot him, that's certainly worth reading about

he was the cuntiest cunt to ever be a cunt to the native americans, so i can't say i like the guy, but he's damn sure interesting to read about

[lolkat]

you are brother sounds like a bich. tell him to read americon lion by andrew jackson

[DipDipDive]

you are brother sounds like a bich.

What is this? German?

[DIGI]

Nice sig ;)


Is it strictly biographies? Supposedly Carter's book is a pretty good read, but it's an autobiography. That and reading it will turn you into a pansy.

[jabumbo]

better hurry up on this one (http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=61-9781404801844-0), only 1 left in stock!

[DIGI]

better hurry up on this one (http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=61-9781404801844-0), only 1 left in stock!

A dog named SweetLips?

[jabumbo]

are you trying to say something about the father of my country?

[DIGI]

Maybe SweetLips ain't no stranger to Scooby Doo peanut butter.