With the presidential election just a month away, it seems only right to explore some biographies of presidents of the past. We hear a lot about Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and the usual well-known crew. So, I’ve chosen some titles about leaders we possibly know a little less about. Hopefully, you’ll find some new and interesting facts about history in this list. Happy reading!
- Mornings on Horseback by David G. McCullough. This is the story of a remarkable young Theodore Roosevelt, seriously handicapped by recurrent and almost fatal asthma attacks, and his struggle to manhood in the very uncommon household in which he was raised.
- American Lion : Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham. A thought-provoking study of Andrew Jackson chronicles the life and career of a self-made man who went on to become a military hero and seventh president of the United States, looking at Jackson's important role during a turbulent era in history, the political crises and personal upheaval that surrounded him, and his impact on the modern presidency.
- President McKinley : Architect of the American Century by Robert Merry. President William McKinley in his two terms as president (1897–1901) transformed America. He established the US as an imperial power. Although he does not rank high in either public memory or historians' rankings, in this revealing account, Robert W. Merry unfolds the mystery of how this bland man managed so much powerful change.
- His Very Best : Jimmy Carter, a Life by Jonathan Alter. Growing up in one of the meanest counties in the Jim Crow South, Carter is the only American president who essentially lived in three centuries: his early life on the farm in the 1920s without electricity or running water might as well have been in the nineteenth; his presidency put him at the center of major events in the twentieth; and his efforts on conflict resolution and global health set him on the cutting edge of the challenges of the twenty-first.
- Destiny and Power : the American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush by Jon Meacham. Drawing on President Bush's personal diaries, those of his wife, Barbara, and on extraordinary access to the forty-first president and his family, Meacham paints a surprising portrait of an intensely private man who led the nation through tumultuous times. From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the first Gulf War to the end of Communism, this is the human story of a man who was both noble and flawed.
Library tip of the month: Enjoy the amazing talent of local artists at the 45th Artists of the Gorge Exhibition. The opening reception will be held on Saturday, October 5, at 6 pm at Stevenson Community Library. The exhibit will be viewable at the library October 7– 31. If you can’t make it to Stevenson, you can view the exhibit online and vote for the People’s Choice Award.
