I may be one of the few non-historians to have read at least one biography of every
George Washington
U.S. President from George Washington through Barack Obama. The fact that I earned a B.A. in Political Science at Cleveland State University way back in 1973 may make my quest seem a little less oddball, but my effort to tackle such a mission in chronological order did not begin until 1997. It was aided at times by serving as a biography judge for the Society of Midland Authors book awards for several years, which resulted in my receiving copies of presidential biographies at times, but mostly those supplemented reading I had already done.
And what did I achieve? Something I suspect many voters lack—a long-term, in-depth perspective on how the office has evolved and what has allowed a relatively few men so far to succeed in the job. It is now historically possible that a few women may succeed (or fail), with gender, like race and religion, rapidly falling by the wayside as an obstacle on the road to the White House. I, for one, am happy to see the nation expand its pool of viable candidates beyond the white guys, however capable some of them might be. Judging from this year’s race, our nation needs all the help it can get.
Harry Truman
It took me 17 years in spare time—amid child rearing and professional travel and responsibilities and life’s many diversions—and a lot of reading to reach my goal. My list includes several behemoths between 500 and 1,000 pages, the longest of which was David McCullough’s Truman (just shy of four figures). Some were far easier reading than others, not so much because they were intellectually lighter fare, but just because they were better written. McCullough is one of the true masters of biography; not every author is. Some presidents have attracted the interest of the best; others have been memorialized by more mediocre authors. It is all in the nature of the business.
So what if I could at least offer a shortcut for those still trying to get some broad perspectives on the presidency in the midst of one of the most puzzling and unpredictable races in decades? Bill Yenne, a veteran nonfiction author, has offered just that recently in The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, an illustrated compendium of summaries, ranging from two (Chester Arthur) to fourteen pages (Franklin Roosevelt), of the lives and presidencies of those 43 men who have served
Grover Cleveland
as our 44 presidents since the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. (If you haven’t heard already, Grover Cleveland is the one president who served two nonconsecutive terms and is thus counted twice. He is actually the subject of a very good biography, An Honest President, by H. Paul Jeffers).
With the background outlined above, I can judge pretty accurately, and Yenne’s summary presentations for the most part do a very good job of capturing the highlights of each presidency and the big issues each man faced. Illustrated, it includes sidebar sketches of each First Lady and vice-president, as well as the candidates each president defeated on his way to the White House. It is fun reading. Occasional copy editing errors or wrong dates mar the overall effect for an ersatz perfectionist like me, though many people might not notice, and these errata are few and far between. That said, the book could easily serve as a handy reference point for people curious about past presidents in a year when the future seems so uncertain. It could even make a very good birthday present if you know someone who was born during primary season, or before November, and who cares about U.S. history.
Who knows, get hooked on this one, and you might decide to go deeper like me. Before you know it, you’ll be a presidential history junkie. Worse things could happen to you. Trust me.
(All images courtesy of Zenith Press.)
Jim Schwab