41 Books about Our Nation’s Presidents

As any history lover will tell you…there is an ABUNDANCE of books written about America’s past presidents. Some 15,000 books have been written about Abe Lincoln ALONE! Powering through these biographies is a daunting task for even the most die-hard history fans…but if you want to read the best of the best about our nation’s leaders, stay tuned!

Here lies some of the best biographies about our nation’s presidents. From Washington to Obama (as of 2017, there has not been an official biography written about Donald Trump), this list basically makes up our nation’s history.

Granted I have not read ALL of these, so I can’t personally vouch for most of them…however, I did my best to gather books with the best reviews, comments, and recommendations from other readers and historians. To add a personal note, I have read Lincoln, which was outstanding, as well as an excerpt from The Accidental President, which was also really interesting…so I can at least vouch for those!

41 Books about Our Nation’s Presidents

George Washington
His Excellency
Joseph J. Ellis

John Adams
John Adams
David McCullough

Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
Jon Meacham

James Madison
James Madison
Ralph Ketcham

James Monroe
The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness
Harlow Giles Unger

John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
Harlow Giles Unger

Andrew Jackson
American Lion
John Meacham

Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren and the Political System
Donald B. Cole

William Harrison
Old Tippecanoe
Freeman Cleaves

John Tyler
John Tyler
Gary May

James Polk
Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America
Walter R. Borneman

Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Jack Bauer

Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore: Biography of a President
Robert J. Rayback

Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire’s Favorite Son
Peter A. Wallner

James Buchanan
President James Buchanan: A Biography
Philip S. Klein

Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln
David Herbert Donald

Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson: A Biography
Hans L. Trefousse

Ulysses S. Grant
Grant
Ron Chernow

Rutherford Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior & President
Ari Hoogenboom

James Garfield
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of the President
Candice Millard

Chester Arthur
Gentleman Boss: The Life and Times of Chester Alan Arthur
Thomas C. Reeves

Grover Cleveland
An Honest President
Paul Jeffers

Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Charles W. Calhoun

William McKinley
In the Days of McKinley
Margaret Leech

Theodore Roosevelt
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
Edmund Morris

William Taft
Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers
Jefferson Powell

Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson: A Biography
John Milton Cooper, Jr.

Warren Harding
Warren G. Harding
John W. Dean

Calvin Coolidge
Coolidge
Amity Shlaes

Herbert Hoover
Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times
Kenneth Whyte

Franklin Roosevelt
Man of Destiny: FDR and the Making of the American Century
Alonzo L. Hamby

Harry Truman
The Accidental President
A.J. Baime

Dwight Eisenhower
Eisenhower in War and Peace
Jean Edward Smith

John Kennedy
An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy
Robert Dallek

Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson: Portrait of a President
Robert Dallek

Richard Nixon
A Life in Full: Richard M. Nixon
Conrad Black

Gerald Ford
Gerald R. Ford
Douglas Brinkley

Jimmy Carter
The Unfinished Presidency
Douglas Brinkley

Ronald Reagan
Reagan: The Life
H. W. Brands

George H. W. Bush
Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush
Jon Meacham

William Clinton
The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House
John F. Harris

George W. Bush
Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House
Peter Baker

Barack Obama
The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama
David Remnick

Looking for a new book to read? Check in every Friday for a “Bee Happy” post, where I share reviews of books I’ve read or other book-themed lists.