# Lifestyles & Discussion > Family, Parenting & Education > Books & Literature >  Best books on the presidents

## LoneWolf

I am reading a book on Polk right now someone recommended to me and finding it very interesting. I want to start from Washington and go through Obama I suppose. What are the best books on each president?

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## PierzStyx

ON Theodore Roosevelt, Edmund Morris's TR Trilogy, starting with "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" is the best writing on TR period. It is $2 on amazon. 
http://www.amazon.com/Theodore-Roose...9&sr=1-1-spell

I also suggest McCullough's "John Adams" as the best single volume book on Adams. You can get it on Amazon for .25 cents. http://www.amazon.com/John-Adams-ebo...7025213&sr=8-7

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## Nate-ForLiberty

bleh. Don't waste your time on American presidents. Read about important people like Mises, Bastiat, Hayek, etc.

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## BuddyRey

The Mises Institute put out a GREAT compilation book of essays a few years ago called _Reassessing the Presidency_ where the authors examine in depth several pivotal steps in the evolution of the Presidency into the very large, all-encompassing, and Imperial office it is today.  It's a big book, and thick as a friggin' phone book, but very compelling.  Highly recommended if you can find an inexpensive copy!

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## Southron

I want to read "A Puritan in Babylon" about Calvin Coolidge when I get time.  Can't recommend it yet, but it's on my list.

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## LoneWolf

Thanks for the suggestions...will look those up.

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## LoneWolf

> bleh. Don't waste your time on American presidents. Read about important people like Mises, Bastiat, Hayek, etc.


My library has 4 books from Mises so which one or ones?

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## Nate-ForLiberty

> My library has 4 books from Mises so which one or ones?


Well, my post was mainly a jab at the office of the presidency being actually important. As BuddyRey said, Reassessing the Presidency is a great one to get into. 

I just wouldn't waste your time reading a book on every single president.

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## ronpaulhemp

For President Calvin Coolidge I'd recommend "Coolidge: An American Enigma"

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## ZanZibar

Doug Wead has written well over a dozen books on the Presidents.

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## Aden

Past threads on RPF and Mises' site said that Albert J Nock's book is the best on Jefferson.

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## LoneWolf

Anyone got any more they suggest?

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## BuddyRey

Even though Hamilton wasn't a President, it couldn't hurt to read _Hamilton's Curse_ by Tom DiLorenzo, or his other classic, _The Real Lincoln._

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## LoneWolf

Thanks for the suggestion. I put the Lincoln one on hold.

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## Sullivan*

> I want to read "A Puritan in Babylon" about Calvin Coolidge when I get time.  Can't recommend it yet, but it's on my list.


Sounds like kind of a dick...

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## heavenlyboy34

> Sounds like kind of a dick...


"Silent Cal" was one of the better ones.

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## No Free Beer

Listen dude,

I am going to be quite frank. Some people on here are too stuck on everything libertarian/austrian econ/Ron Paul.

It is always good to branch out. I can't recommend a specific book. Someone mentioned John Adams by Mcullough, I read a good majority of his book on 1776 and it was fantastic. I have seen the HBO show John Adams (which was based off of his book), so I wouldn't feel the need to read the book, but go for it. I plan on doing the same. I told one of my good friends a little over a year ago that one of my goals in life was to read about all the US Presidents. So, go for it! I'll be right there with ya...

BTW, a good indicator for good books is going on Amazon. 

Again, branch out. If our idealogy is really the best, than you have nothing to fear. Not EVERYONE who writes books on presidents and praises them for whatever reason is anti-liberty. There are a lot of great writers out there who do their job. They research and write a book based on the facts. Mcullough is one of them.

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## Marky

> Past threads on RPF and Mises' site said that Albert J Nock's book is the best on Jefferson.


Nock’s “Mr. Jefferson" is very unique in it’s flow and style. It’s kind of like the scenic route of biographies. It has many curves and hills and valleys, and usually he takes you full circle to your destination…but sometimes he leads you into another curve…It feels like a long essay, that defies all the structural conventions of a biography. It’s almost more worth reading for it’s interesting stylistic qualities than the amount of info you would get from it.

I would wholeheartedly recommend it if it didn’t have the effect of valium. This book put me to sleep more so than any book I’ve read in recent memory. Not because it was bad or even boring, but because it just was too up in the clouds to be engaging to me.

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## matt0611

Its not out yet but "James Madison and the Making of America" by Kevin Gutzman is on my list to read. I loved Gutzman's Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution so this will probably be really good too. 

I also really liked "A Country Squire in the Whitehouse" by John Flynn. (its about FDR)

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## cityoflight

At a glance this list seems to be pretty mainstream so if you're looking for a particular ideological viewpoint it may not be helpful, but I believe all of these books are pretty well-regarded if you want to work your way through the presidents. I'm hoping to do the same eventually!

http://www.mastersdegree.net/blog/20...history-buffs/

"John Adams" by McCullough is very very good as others have mentioned.

I would also second the "Reassessing the Presidency" collection from Mises.

"Recarving Rushmore" by Ivan Eland is an interesting evaluation of each president from a liberty/limited government perspective. Takes you through the ups and (mainly) downs of each president and knocks down a lot of myths and sacred cows, grading each one on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty. Ron Paul, Tom Woods, and Tom DiLorenzo have recommended it. There was a discussion about it in another thread on here probably a couple months back.

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## TroySmith

I recommend ignoring the advice on not reading presidential biographies. Many of them are a treasure trove of history, even if you have to weed out some pro/anti bias of the authors. The above mentioned one on Coolidge by Sobral is excellent. Just pick a person and study him.

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