Celebrate Presidents' Day with Biographies of Overlooked Presidents

Washington.  Lincoln. Jefferson.  Both Roosevelts. Nixon.  Reagan. Clinton. Obama. These presidents loom large in our imaginations: easily identifiable figures whose influence defines the Presidency and the evolution of our country.

The library stacks are filled with biographies that investigate the deeds and personalities of these men, but what about the other presidents? Those not easily identified whose places in history are often overlooked?

For Presidents' Day, we highlight those commanders-in-chief who may have fallen under your radar.

An Honest President : The Life and Presidencies of Grover Cleveland by Paul H. Jeffers The only president to win the presidency, lose it four years later, and win it back four years after that. This book takes a look at the paragon of integrity, a man who took on corruption wherever he saw it and took responsibility for his mistakes (i.e., fathering a child out of wedlock to legally get out of serving in the Civil War).

Old Tippecanoe : William Henry Harrison and his time by Freeman Cleaves Harrison served as president for 39 days before dying of pneumonia contracted while giving his inaugural address.  This book deals with Harrison’s military service as a general in the War of 1812 and his time as governor of Indiana.  It provides unique insight into the man’s personality and makes you wonder how days 40 and beyond would have shaped this country.

Destiny of the Republic : a tale of madness, medicine and the murder of a president by Candice Millard Garfield served almost six months as President when an assassin’s bullet entered his body.  This book follows the 11 and a half weeks that an archaic medical profession and no less a superstar than Thomas Alva Edison tried to find the bullet.  It’s a presidential biography wrapped in a thriller.

Polk : the man who transformed the presidency and America by Walter Borneman James K. Polk served one term and changed the direction of the country.  He established an independent treasury, annexed southwest from Mexico, and tricked the British into giving the US Oregon. This excellent biography about the man They Might Be Giants called “Napoleon of the Stump.”

The Bully Pulpit : Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin Teddy Roosevelt looms large but how much do you really know about William Howard Taft, their broken friendship and the election that changed the direction of our country?  Not a lot? Then get reading.

The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant : the complete annotated edition Ulysses S. Grant can’t be considered under-rated - having helped Lincoln win the Civil War and all - but a friend turned me to Grant’s “dry” and “humorous” memoirs which “avoids the trap that other presidential memoirs...and barely talks about the presidency at all.”  Given they were originally published by Mark Twain, this is not surprising.