Presidents’ Day is more than just a long weekend. Originally a national holiday meant to celebrate George Washington’s birthday, it’s now a day that celebrates all our past U.S. presidents (although, it’s a shame we can’t have a day off for each and every one, isn’t it?).
Here’s a list of books that offer an insider’s look at life at White House, told by bodyguards, White House ushers, ace reporters, and even the presidents themselves.
{buybutton id=11919/}Upstairs at the White House
For three decades, J. B. West, chief usher of the White House, supervised nearly every activity of the first family, conversing daily not just with the president, but his family members, guests, and heads of state. This New York Times bestselling book gives us an intimate and charming look at the life of America’s first families.
{buybutton id=16234/}Through Five Administrations
Colonel William H. Cook, one of four White House bodyguards assigned to protect President Abraham Lincoln, was not on duty the night of the president’s assassination. If he had been, history might have been entirely rewritten. This is his account of his next fifty years as a dedicated and key White House employee, serving seven different presidents.
{buybutton id=13598/}Conversations with Kennedy
Benjamin C. Bradlee and John F. Kennedy had an intimate friendship, probably the closest friendship between a journalist and a president that has ever existed. Conversations with Kennedy paints a very different picture of John F. Kennedy than the one the public is familiar with.
{buybutton id=5882/}How the Good Guys Finally Won
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jimmy Breslin goes behind the scenes of the Watergate hearings and Nixon’s impeachment, one of the nation’s biggest scandals at the time.
{buybutton id=6234/}Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox
If you couldn’t get enough of PBS’s The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, this book is for you. James MacGregor Burns’ definitive biography of FDR is a must-read for fans of presidential history.
{buybutton id=595/}The Wisdom of Theodore Roosevelt
In this collection of speeches, articles, and letters, one of the most prolific U.S. presidents reflects on everything from life as the world’s most powerful leader to his daughter Alice. Did you know that Teddy was the first U.S. President to win a Nobel Peace Prize?
{buybutton id=509/}The Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln
From a small-town political leader to dealing with the country’s greatest internal crisis in history, Abraham Lincoln made one of the biggest impacts on the United States. This readable account examines Lincoln’s statements on politics, education, slavery and more.
{buybutton id=599/}The Wisdom of Thomas Jefferson
Not only was Thomas Jefferson a president, but he was also an inventor, an architect, and a scholar, just to name a few. Find out how this American renaissance man influenced and built a young nation.
{buybutton id=529/}The Wisdom of FDR
During a time of great peril, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s policies and decisions not only shaped U.S. history, but the world’s.
{buybutton id=15537/}Remembering America
Find out why one Goodreads reviewer has called Richard Goodwin’s personal account of 1960s American politics “an absolute must read for the political junkie.” Remembering America is a firsthand look at one of the most momentous decades in American politics.
{buybutton id=15736/}Student's Guide to American Political Thought
American politics can get complicated. It never hurts to brush up. After all, what are you going to say when someone asks you, “How ought we regard the beliefs and motivations of the founders, the debate over the ratification of the Constitution?” It’ll happen when you least expect it.
{buybutton id=13591/}Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
Completed just before his death, Grant’s memoir has been hailed as one of the most powerful and greatest American autobiographies.
{buybutton id=12504/}First Hubby
Both political satire and sexy romance, Roy Blount Jr.’s humorous novel chronicles the life of America’s first First Husband.