Reading Presidential Biographies
During these hectic times, when the national economy seems in-and-out of the tank, and the news when bad seems a bit positive compared with other stuff; it's often when I move from reading fiction to non-fiction ... usually picking up one or two presidential biographies. A few years ago I decided to read at least one, or two, of them each year ... going from John Adams to Washington to Eisenhower to Truman. My order means less than when a new, well received biography arrives in the Ocean City Library.
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House (2008) by Jon Meacham was my first selection for this calendar year. Jackson was in the White House from 1824 through 1836 during some trying times in the United States. First of all, during the two terms he increased the presidential power far more than any other President before him. As the 7th President of the United States, he was the first one from the West (Tennessee) following four from Virginia and two from Massachusetts. He was also another war hero and a popular one known across the individual states.
But Jackson should best be remembered for his efforts to hold the country together as South Carolina made an effort to make "state's rights" more imporant than those of the entire country. His tireless efforts resulted in preventing this from happening without bloodshed. But that could have easily happened ... as it did 30+ years later. Clearly, Jackson continues to get "his due" with this well-written biography. He should rank right up there in the "top ten" Presidents throughout the history of the United States.
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (2008) by Doris Kearns Goodwin is my present selection (and I was able to purchase this one ... so I'm underlining as I go along.) Reminds me of some of my college history classes as I prepare for the next essay test. With so many books on Lincoln, who clearly makes the top one or two Presidents in most best past President's reviews, Goodwin goes into detail on a topic not covered by anyone before. As the title suggests, she looks at Lincoln from the viewpoint of his rivals for the Republican nomination for President by his party ... all of whom were later selected to serve in his Cabinet during the difficult times that they all faced with "the Civil War." She goes into great deal comparing each of these great leaders (who could have won the nomination) with Lincoln researching family information, journals, and other information writing it into a new and revealing format to learn so much more about how Lincoln was able to work with this strong personalities in his Administration.
As the weather warms up, I will probably return to some more relaxed fictional reading in the coming weeks (after I finished this second book). But reading these two excellent books, or others out there, one can see some interesting parallels to the challenges faced by our new President and his Administration. I know that President Obama is now reading Team of Rivals.
I'm always open to some "book recommendations," so if you have gotten this far, leave a comment and recommend something for me. Thanks for reading the posting. Dap
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