American Presidents History

New York Times White House correspondent Mark Landler takes us behind the speeches and press conferences, to the Situation Room debates and picnic-table lunches, where Obama and Clinton honed their two competing worldviews: his, cautious, inward-looking, suffused with a sense of limits; hers, muscular, optimistic, unabashedly old-fashioned.

The narrative of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy has been told from many points of view, most significantly in the wave of books exploring the Warren Commission's findings and the conspiracy theories that followed. But for journalist Steven Beschloss, the story of Lee Harvey Oswald began with the troubled bond with his mother.

When Dwight Eisenhower graduated from West Point in 1915, few would have predicted he was destined for greatness. Yet the young officer made the most of the opportunities he was given, made a lasting impression on superiors, and eventually gained a reputation as an excellent staff officer.

The culmination of years of work on Abraham Lincoln's political thought, Michael Zuckert's A Nation So Conceived argues for a coherent center to Lincoln's political ideology. Zuckert provides invaluable guidance to understanding both Lincoln and the politics of the United States between 1845 and Lincoln's death in 1865 by focusing on roughly a dozen speeches that Lincoln made during his career. This listener-friendly chronological organization is motivated by Zuckert's emphasis on Lincoln as a practical politician who was always fully aware of the political context of the moment.

This chapter begins with Lincoln's fight for a seat in congress against two other Whig candidates. This part of his life is notably marked by domestic disturbances, many of which shaped people's idea of Lincoln, the man. Taking a pro-tariff stance in his campaign, he is elected to congress in 1846. We learn of his affinity to poetry, which he avidly read and wrote, and see the development of the 'old Abe' archetype.

John and Abigail Adams and their descendants have profoundly influenced life in the United States for more than two centuries. From the great political and philosophical contributions of Founding Father and President John Adams, the roster of Adams luminaries is unprecedented: diplomat and sixth president, John Quincy Adams; pre-Civil War "Voice of Honor", Charles Francis Adams; and authors Henry and Brook Adams. The story of the Adams dynasty is as impressive and compelling as its legacy.

Abraham Lincoln is the central axis of this story about America's seemingly unstoppable march toward war, the shattering of its political landscape, and its grappling with the moral underpinnings of a republic of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Some of America's foremost historians - including James M. McPherson, Allan Nevins, and Stephen B. Oates - recount the extraordinary life of Abraham Lincoln in this collection of the best essays from 60 years of American Heritage.

Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln had only three meetings, but their exchanges profoundly influenced the course of slavery and the outcome of the Civil War. Although Abraham Lincoln deeply opposed the institution of slavery, he saw the Civil War at its onset as being primarily about preserving the Union. Frederick Douglass, himself a former slave, by contrast saw the Wars mission to be the total and permanent abolition of slavery.

As a defender of national unity, a leader in war, and the emancipator of slaves, Abraham Lincoln lays ample claim to being the greatest of our presidents. This extraordinary biography by one of the most highly regarded historians on the subject examines Lincoln both as a rising politician and as president.

For all the talk of the Civil War "pitting brother against brother", until now there has never been a single book that traces the story of one family ravaged by that conflict. And no family could better illustrate the personal toll the war took than Lincoln's own. Mary Todd Lincoln was one of 14 siblings who were split between the Confederacy and the Union. Three of her brothers fought, and two died, for the South.

The Education of John Adams is the first biography of John Adams by a biographer with legal training. It examines his origins in colonial Massachusetts, his education, and his struggle to choose a career and define a place for himself in colonial society.

From the New York Times best-selling author of The Last Castle and The Girls of Atomic City comes the fascinating story of America’s national day of thanks and of the tenacious and inspiring Sarah Josepha Hale, a 19th-century woman who made establishing this holiday her life’s mission - one brought to fruition by the wise support of Abraham Lincoln.

Tyson Reeder's book traces early America's rocky beginnings, when foreign interference and political conflict threatened to undermine its aspirations and ideals, even its very existence. Spanning the period from the Revolution to the War of 1812, and focusing on the presidency of James Madison, it reveals a nation adjusting to rancorous partisan politics, aggravated by the untested and imperfect new tools of governance and the growing power of media.

In Becoming Madison, Michael Signer takes a fresh look at the life of our fourth president. His focus is on Madison before he turned 36, the years in which he did his most enduring work: battling with Patrick Henry - the most charismatic politician in revolutionary America, whose political philosophy and ruthless tactics eerily foreshadowed those of today's Tea Party - over religious freedom; introducing his framework for a strong central government; and becoming the intellectual godfather of the Constitution.

Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, was a transformative figure whose life and leadership reshaped American politics and global affairs. From his humble beginnings in small-town Illinois to his rise as a Hollywood actor, governor of California, and ultimately one of the most influential presidents in U.S. history, Reagan’s story is one of resilience, vision, and unwavering optimism. Known for his ability to inspire hope and his steadfast commitment to freedom, Reagan’s legacy continues to influence the world today. This biography takes readers on an immersive journey...

Horace Busby was one of LBJ's most trusted advisors; their close working and personal relationship spanned twenty years. In The Thirty-First of March he offers an indelible portrait of a president and a presidency at a time of crisis.

Wealthy Virginia planter, revolutionary general, and founding president, George Washington was the most illustrious public man of his time, a man whose image today still reflects his own careful shaping of his persona. In this thoughtful and incisive biography, Burns and Dunn dissect the strengths and weaknesses of Washington's presidential leadership, from his lasting foreign and economic policies to his polarizing denunciation of the political parties and his public silence about slavery.

Andrea Mitchell started her pathbreaking career as the quintessential girl reporter and quickly became one of the first women in broadcast news. She's been labeled a "pushy broad", yet her intelligence, tenacity, and ability to always be "where the action is" have catapulted her to the top of her profession. As one of America's most watched correspondents, Mitchell has regularly shared her observations with millions of television viewers for more than three decades.

Undaunted is a representative history of the American women who surmounted every impediment put in their way to do journalism’s most valued work. From Margaret Fuller’s improbable success to the highly paid reporters of the mid-nineteenth century to the breakthrough investigative triumphs of Nellie Bly, Ida Tarbell, and Ida B. Wells, Brooke Kroeger examines the lives of the best-remembered and long-forgotten woman journalists.