Presidential biographies: you've lived through the ups and the downs of more than a few presidential administrations, and here's your chance to know even more. We've consulted the experts on presidential biographies from different eras.Douglas L. Wilson Douglas L. Wilson is a professor and co-director of Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College. Wilson is the George A. Lawrence Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of English at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. CODIRECTOR OF THE LINCOLN STUDIES CENTER, KNOX COLLEGE Knox College can refer to:
Douglas L. Wilson is codirector of the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College. He has written extensively on Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. With his partner Rodney O. Davis, he has edited The Lincoln-Douglas Debates Lincoln-Douglas Debates Series of seven debates between Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln and Democratic Sen. Stephen A. Douglas in the 1858 Illinois senatorial campaign. They focused on slavery and its extension into the western territories. (forthcoming 2008). His own books, Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln (1998) and Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words (2006), were both awarded the Lincoln Prize The Lincoln Prize, endowed by Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman and administered by Gettysburg College, has been awarded annually since 1991 for the best non-fiction historical work of the year on the American Civil War. It is named for U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. . [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Life of Thomas Jefferson (3 vols.) By Henry S. Randall (1858) For historic figures like Thomas Jefferson, some of the older biographies, even those that are hopelessly biased and out of date, are indispensable for scholars, since they contain invaluable information found nowhere else. Randall's sprawling 19th-century biography is a perfect example, since he was unabashedly un·a·bashed adj. 1. Not disconcerted or embarrassed; poised. 2. Not concealed or disguised; obvious: unabashed disgust. partisan and had the assistance of members of Jefferson's immediate family and access to family papers and other documents no longer extant. Yet Randall's book is still eminently readable and can be recommended both for its limpid prose and for its untroubled depiction of a Founding Father at a time when the battle over the meaning of the founding was about to tear the country apart. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Truman By David McCullough (1992) * PULITZER PRIZE Pulitzer Prize Any of a series of annual prizes awarded by Columbia University for outstanding public service and achievement in American journalism, letters, and music. Fellowships are also awarded. At first, Harry Truman did not appear to be the stuff of which great national leaders are made, but when he was dropped unexpectedly into the presidency, he spent a long time proving he had the right stuff. No modern president has had so many diffcult crises to face or so many thankless decisions to make--the atomic bomb atomic bomb or A-bomb, weapon deriving its explosive force from the release of atomic energy through the fission (splitting) of heavy nuclei (see nuclear energy). The first atomic bomb was produced at the Los Alamos, N.Mex. , the Cold War, Israel, Korea, MacArthur--and with so little public understanding or support. Through diligent research and a sympathetic reconstruction of Truman's patchwork career, McCullough helps us make sense of it all. Not the least of this writer's assets are his unerring un·err·ing adj. Committing no mistakes; consistently accurate. un·err  ing·ly adv. sense
of narrative and a masterly command of language, which together produce
the most readable and enjoyable presidential biography I have ever read.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America A Biography By William E. Gienapp (2002) With an ever-growing number books being published on Abraham Lincoln's life and the civil war over which he presided, it is astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. to find an authoritative work that covers the ground in only 200 pages. No more meticulous scholar has ever studied these interrelated in·ter·re·late tr. & intr.v. in·ter·re·lat·ed, in·ter·re·lat·ing, in·ter·re·lates To place in or come into mutual relationship. in subjects than the late William E. Gienapp of Harvard, and no one has come even close to writing so compact an account as Gienapp's. Yet in spite of the book's size, its discriminating history of Lincoln's life is surprisingly rich, and the narrative of his presidency and the unfolding of the war is crisp and coherent. This remarkable book is not only the best short work on Lincoln but one of the best of the stellar crop of Lincoln books that has appeared in the last 15 years. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] H. W. Brands HISTORIAN H. W. Brands is the Dickson Allen Anderson Centennial Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin “University of Texas” redirects here. For other system schools, see University of Texas System. The University of Texas at Austin (often referred to as The University of Texas, UT Austin, UT, or Texas . He is the author of biographies of Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson, among other books. He is currently completing a biography of Franklin Roosevelt. George Washington (7 vols.) By Douglas Southall Freeman (1949-1957) * PULITZER PRIZE [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] They don't write them like this any more, which may be a good thing. Freeman--editor of the Richmond News Leader by day, historical biographer by night--loved his fellow Virginians to a fault. His four volumes on Robert E. Lee were even better than these seven on Washington (the last Washington volume was completed after his death), but both biographies won him Pulitzers. He tells more about Washington than any reasonable person nowadays should want to know--which is why he is cherished by all the unreasonable history fanatics out there. Jefferson and His Time (6 vols.) By Dumas Malone Dumas Malone (1892-1986), an American author, was born at Coldwater, Mississippi, USA on January 10, 1892. He received his bachelor's degree in 1910 from Emory College (Emory University) and in 1916 he received his divinity degree from Yale University. (1948-1982) * PULITZER PRIZE [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Malone's work is almost as old-fashioned as Freeman's Washington, and only slightly more objective. Nonetheless, this masterwork mas·ter·work n. See masterpiece. recreates the world of America's philosopher-prince, who also happened to be a much tougher politico than his rivals had imagined. For over three decades, Malone channeled the ghost of Jefferson from his office at Jefferson's University of Virginia, and the connection clearly shows--for (mostly) better and (occasionally) worse. The Years of Lyndon Johnson (3 vols. to date) By Robert Caro Robert Allan Caro (born October 30, 1935, New York, New York) is a biographer most noted for his studies of United States political figures Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson. (1982-present) * NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR THE PATH TO POWER, PULITZER PRIZE AND NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR MASTER OF THE SENATE This is my wild card. Caro hasn't even reached Johnson's presidency yet, and much of what he has written so far shades into melodrama, with the villains and heroes clearly distinguished. But it is glorious melodrama, riveting riv·et·ing adj. Wholly absorbing or engrossing one's attention; fascinating: The last chapter was so riveting that I was reading past midnight. readers as Caro draws them into Johnson's world and making them wonder how Johnson--until now mostly the villain--will be redeemed by the time he becomes the great champion of civil rights. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kendrick A. Clements HISTORIAN Kendrick A. Clements is the author of Woodrow Wilson: World Statesman (1987), The Presidency of Woodrow Wilson (1992), and Hoover, Conservation, and Consumerism: Engineering the Good Life (2000). Woodrow Wilson By August Heckscher (1991) There is, unfortunately, no single, great one-volume biography of Woodrow Wilson. For the general reader, a good choice is Heckschler's volume, a well-written, comprehensive biography. It is especially good in its portrayal of Wilson's childhood and early career but a little outdated in its presentation of the events of his presidency. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Woodrow Wilson Profiles in Power By John A. Thompson (2002) A brief alternative to Heckschler's volume, Thompson's biography offers original insights into Wilson's national and international policies. But both Heckscher and Thompson make clear why Wilson is usually ranked among the top five American presidents. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Herbert Hoover A Public Life By David Burner (1979) This is a standout among the biographies of Herbert Hoover. Although now out of print, it is widely available in libraries and from used-book dealers. It is a sympathetic but not fawning fawn 1 intr.v. fawned, fawn·ing, fawns 1. To exhibit affection or attempt to please, as a dog does by wagging its tail, whining, or cringing. 2. interpretation of one of our most intelligent but least successful presidents. In writing it, Burner mastered an enormous amount of source material and distilled it into a readable single volume that covers Hoover's early career as a mining engineer, his extraordinary achievements in providing relief to civilians in Europe during and after World War I, his years as secretary of commerce, his long postpresidential career, and his presidency. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Allen C. Guelzo Allen Carl Guelzo (born February 2, 1953 in Yokohama, Japan) is the Henry R. Luce III Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College, where he serves as Director of the Civil War Era Studies Program and The Gettysburg Semester. Biography Guelzo was the son of Lt. HISTORIAN Allen C. Guelzo is the Henry R. Luce Professor of Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a private national four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, adjacent to the famous battlefield. and the author of several influential books on Abraham Lincoln, including Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President (1999) and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation Emancipation Proclamation, in U.S. history, the executive order abolishing slavery in the Confederate States of America. Desire for Such a Proclamation : The End of Slavery of America (2004), both of which won The Lincoln Prize. Abraham Lincoln A Biography By Benjamin P. Thomas (1952) Despite the enormous amount of material on Lincoln published in the last 50 years, Thomas's single volume is still the best-balanced overview of Lincoln's life. Thomas is neither a starry-eyed worshipper of Lincoln nor a cheap critic. He depicts the major issues (and mysteries) of Lincoln's life with admirable restraint--and with an eminently readable narrative style. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Andrew Jackson (3 VOLS.) By Robert V. Remini Robert V. Remini (b. July 17, 1921) is a historian and a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the author of numerous works about President Andrew Jackson and the Jacksonian Era. He received his B.S., M.A. and Ph.D. This magnificent three-volume survey of the life of the furious and controversial seventh president is one of the monuments of presidential biography. Remini fully captures Jackson's colorful life, yet his admiration for the man does not temper his hard-edged portrayal of his many flaws. In the end, however, Jackson remains for Remini the principal figure in the democratizing of America. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] American Sphinx sphinx (sfĭngks), mythical beast of ancient Egypt, frequently symbolizing the pharaoh as an incarnation of the sun god Ra. The sphinx was represented in sculpture usually in a recumbent position with the head of a man and the body of a lion, The Character of Thomas Jefferson By Joseph J. Ellis (1997) * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD This is not, strictly speaking Adv. 1. strictly speaking - in actual fact; "properly speaking, they are not husband and wife" properly speaking, to be precise , a biography of Thomas Jefferson as much as it is a portrayal of the character and temperament behind Jefferson's public life. By selecting key moments in Jefferson's career, Ellis depicts the values and convictions that lay nearest Jefferson's heart--especially his passion for freedom from constraint. At the same time, he acknowledges that many of those convictions were mysteriously and irredeemably at odds with each other. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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