John Tyler, the Accidental President14 reviews Edward P. Crapol The University of North Carolina Press, 2006 John Tyler, the Accidental President + A very nuanced, even-handed treatment of our tenth president I am currently reading the biographies of all the American presidents in order. The quality of the books available for this project varies a great deal. This biography, of our usually ignored tenth president, is well-written, very informative, a good read.             An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917 - 1963 (Dynasty)16 reviews Robert Dallek Back Bay Books, 2004 Fallen Icon + Excellent full-life biography. + Solid one-volume treatment + Useful but Not Spectacular.             Nixon, Vol. 1: The Education of a Politician 1913-196212 reviews Stephen E. Ambrose Simon & Schuster, 1987 Moves fast and tells a great story + Great book + Nixon: The Education of the READER + Great start to the three volume biography + The real Nixon!             Lyndon B. Johnson: Portrait of a President6 reviews Robert Dallek Oxford University Press, USA, 2004 Lyndon Johnson, President During a Difficult Decade + Worth Repeating: Best one volume bio of LBJ + read + Best Single Volume Biography of LBJ + Great Biography             T.R.: The Last Romantic43 reviews H. W. Brands Basic Books, 1998 A Canny Historian Dissects "Pure Act" + I'd vote for this man any year! + The Public and Private TR + a Strong Biography but not Brands best             His Excellency: George Washington218 reviews Joseph J. Ellis Vintage, 2005 An excellent look at the life of America's father. + Excellent I found this book to be a refreshing look at the life of America's greatest founding father. Ellis does a fantastic job of getting to the meat of a seemingly endless list of resources including numerous pieces of personal correspondence, and provides a more personal look into the mind of the ...             Zachary Taylor : Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest9 reviews K. Jack Bauer Louisiana State University Press, 1993 Old Rough and Ready's Story + Comprehensive but often dull biography of our twelfth President This was a good read in that it described Zack Taylor's military carreer and political excursion thoroughly. The book does a good job of keeping interest in a less than interesting character. Taylor seems to be somewhat of a whiner throughout his military career, but he was a good soldier. The ...             Andrew Johnson : A Biography (Signature Series)8 reviews Hans L. Trefousse American Political Biography Press, 1998 Fair, well-written historical analysis..... + Comprehensive and satisfactory biography of Andrew Johnson + Detailed enough to tell his story + Overall fair and well constructed look at the 17th President + Baalanced and consistently interesting             Truman277 reviews David McCullough Simon & Schuster, 1993 wonderful sense of American history + Every Page a Gem + Best & worst of McC + Buy the Hardback + The Real Harry S. Truman             Fraud of the Century: Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel Tilden, and the Stolen Election of 187618 reviews Roy Jr. Morris Simon & Schuster, 2004 Who stole what. + Thorough and Balanced A classic case of a grand theft. But who really stole what. One party cheats the electorate in the states of Oregon, Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana. The other party disenfranchises millions of former slaves in these states and the other 10 Southern states. Morris does a great job ...             Eisenhower Soldier and President36 reviews Stephen E. Ambrose American Political Biography Press, 2007 A great work + We Want More Ike + Thorough Biography of a General and a Statesman + We like Ike! + A Fine, One Volume Biography             Lincoln104 reviews David Herbert Donald Simon & Schuster, 1996 My favorite Lincoln Biography. Excellent. + Tight focus on Lincoln, not on larger events + Slow start, but picks up the pace quickly. + Great Research             The Rise Of U.s. Grant Colonel Arthur L. Conger Da Capo Press, 1996 When Fort Sumter fell in 1861, Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) was an obscure clerk in Galena, Illinois, without influential friends and lacking a reputation for success. Yet within three years this man rose to command the Union armies, and just over a year later secured the defeat of the Confederacy. How can this emergence be explained? What were the characteristics of such a man and by what means ...             No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II120 reviews Doris Kearns Goodwin Simon & Schuster, 1995 Wonderful piece of living history + Another great Goodwin book + Brings history to life + The Essence of 20th Century America + A great read and history lesson             American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson136 reviews Joseph J. Ellis Vintage, 1998 `He did not always speak exactly as he felt either towards his friends or his enemies.' + Great book! I thoroughly enjoyed Professor Ellis's book about that enigmatic man: Thomas Jefferson. It is not a biography of Jefferson nor is it a complete history and those of us who want to know more about this period in American history will need to look to other sources. For me, the value of this book ...             The Remarkable Millard Fillmore: The Unbelievable Life of a Forgotten President15 reviews George Pendle Three Rivers Press, 2007 "We'll make a woman of you yet, Millard!" + Realize this is NOT historically accurate + "Depending On The Word's Inflection, N'bugaru Can Also Mean 'He Who Eats Camels.'" + The joke was on me             John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life48 reviews Paul C. Nagel Harvard University Press, 1999 Five Stars + A Fine Biography of a Great American + Enjoyable and Informative + THE LIFE OF THE PARTY             Coolidge26 reviews Robert Sobel Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2000 Really well written, concise and enjoyable read + Excellent Coolidge Biography + Coolidge alive + Fair assessment of an elusive man + Only a Beginning. . .             Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times69 reviews H.W. Brands Anchor, 2006 Andrew Jackson + Preserving the Union through a world of struggle + Solid Introduction to Andrew Jackson + Man and Myth Reconciled + A Good Read on Andrew Jackson             John Adams760 reviews David McCullough Simon & Schuster, 2008 Superb biography of a fascinating (and generally overlooked) individual. + An Exceptional Read... + History comes alive! + Finally Giving the Devil His Due + Very good biography of a lesser-known Founding Father