Tags
American history, Barack Obama, biographies, David Garrow, David Maraniss, David Remnick, presidential biographies, Superbowl 2019, US Presidents
After more than six years, I’ve finally arrived at the last person whose biographies I’m reading on this first trip through the presidents: Barack Obama.
Superbowl Sunday may seem an odd time to launch this round’s final president, but the clock is ticking and just over two weeks remain until Presidents’ Day when I’m slated to start the next leg of this adventure.
So until the pre-game show starts this afternoon I’ll be ensconced in my study reading the back-half of my 238th presidential biography. (Note: I won’t be watching the pre-pre-game show. Too much to read, not enough time!)
For the 44th president I’m reading three biographies. And in an odd but meaningless twist of fate they are each authored by someone named David:
* I’ve already started David Remnick’s 2010 “The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama.” Remnick is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author (for his 1994 “Lenin’s Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire“). This mid-sized biography documents the circumstances and ambition behind Obama’s seemingly unlikely rise to the nation’s highest office. A few readers have described it to me as detailed and dense, but more often I’ve heard it’s insightful and inspirational.
* My second biography will be David Garrow’s “Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama.” Published in 2017, this tome exceeds 1,000 pages (not counting its more than 300 pages of notes and bibliography). This book found its way to my list when The Washington Post named it a Top 10 book of the year in 2017. But it has many detractors, and even its most ardent fans refer to it as a “doorstop.”
* I trust I’ve saved the best for last with David Maraniss’s 2012 “Barack Obama: The Story.” I really enjoyed this author’s biography of Bill Clinton’s pre-presidency and have been told by readers I trust (you know who you are) that this book is even better. Here’s to hoping Round 1 of the best presidential biographies goes out on a strong note!
It’s been an incredible read, reading about your reading about these presidents. All I could lay claim is to having read The Years of Lyndon Johnson.
I would like to make a couple more commendations, not many, but a few –
All the President’s Men, by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein – it would be, in my humble opinion, remiss to exclude this from any Round Two. Not only is it still an excellent read today but it also about the making of history and even made history itself, making books themselves a part of news. (A trend still alive today with the many books about the Trump administration.)
This one may be outside the scope of the project, but Robert Caro’s first book, The Power Broker, is another excellent read, though it has little relation to the presidents’ so much as to the transformation of New York and the enormous, unbelievable influence it had on city planning across America. If the blame for the incompetence and inadequacy of public transportation can not be rest wholly on his shoulders, then it can rest there partially, because Moses’ ideas about highways deliberately excluded buses.
“All the President’s Men” is a great thought, particularly as I get sightly further away from traditional biographies. As for your second suggestion, “The Power Broker” is the 10th book on my list of biographies to read once I finish up with Obama in a couple weeks 🙂
It also happens to be the highest-rated biography with more than 5,000 Goodreads reviews of *any* biography I’ve come across.
Will you be writing reviews of these books as well or are you going to take a break from that?
I’ll be writing reviews of these books as well. I put the follow-up presidential bio reviews on this site and I’ll put synopses of “other” biographies (like Chernow’s “Alexander Hamilton” or Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs”) here but with the full reviews at the other website I’m dedicating to all non-presidential biographies.
I had no idea you had a blog for best biographies also! I have, of course, followed and look forward to going through the archives. I also have a few recommendations. I have not read nearly as widely as you have but there are a few books that are missing from your list, in my humble opinion.
Jan Swafford’s biographies of Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms are quite possibly the finest biography of either ever written and among my favorite biographies ever written.
James Tiptree Jr.: The Double Life of Alice Sheldon, by Julie Phillips, is a fantastic biography of one of those figures who helped to push science fiction in a more literary direction. Tiptree Jr. isn’t remembered quite as much today as others around him but he was a fantastic writer, and she was a fascinating person, with a unique background and psychology.
I shall be following your other blog as well and providing recommendations when I can and, of course, taking your own recommendations in mind as I work through my immense TBR list.
I’d name J. Anthony Lukas’s Nightmare: The Underside of the Nixon Years as the best Watergate book ever written. It doesn’t have the immediacy of All the President’s Men (even though it was written around the same time), but more than compensates with scope, thoroughness and Lukas’s dynamic writing style. (He is better-known today for Common Ground, his Pulitzer-winning book on the Boston busing crisis in the ’70s.) Even with all the new information (tapes, government papers, etc.) that’s come out since its publication, I’ve yet to read a book that handles Watergate better than Nightmare.
I will second your comments re: The Power Broker. It’s one of my all-time favorites and I would recommend it to anyone, whether or not you’re a fan of Caro going in. More amazing because it’s essentially a story of urban planning and bureaucracy; you would imagine something like that to be a snoozefest, but almost every single word is engrossing. It’s also both a complement and contrast to Caro’s books on LBJ; whereas LBJ, for all his ambition, at least tried using his power for good once he obtained it, Moses cared only about power for its own sake.
Congratulations! I just finished Hayes’ bio by Hoogenboom & it was slow going. Garfield sounds like he will be more interesting. I should reach President Obama in about 2 more years. I am reading some other books along the way besides presidential bios. Thanks for all you have shared.
Congrats! If you’re up to Garfield you’ve survived some tough stretches! My 9th grader recently asked me for a book recommendation for his history class (they had some flexibility on what they could read) and I recommended Millard’s “Destiny of the Republic” and he couldn’t be happier. It’s not necessarily my top Garfield “biography” pick, but I think you’ll be pleased no matter which route you go!
I decided this year I wanted to begin an ambitious project: to read at least one book on each President, each First Lady, and at least a book centering on one major issue of world event during their term. I’ve been accumulating these books, many through library sales for the past couple days.
Congratulations on getting to number 44!
Thanks – and I have a favor to ask! As you come across excellent biographies / books on the First Ladies, let me know – I’m eager to read more about many of them…and can’t wait for Jon Meacham’s bio of James and Dolley Madison to come out.
Amy Greenberg is publishing a book Sarah Polk this month.
The University Press of Kansas has a series on the Modern First Ladies:
https://kansaspress.ku.edu/series/modern-first-ladies.html
PS: Great call on Destiny of the Republic. I found it a fascinating look into late-19th century medicine.
For your next trek – I highly recommend the Henry Clay bio by David & Jeanne Heidler. Highly readable and fascinating. 🙂
Congratulations. I’ve spent about 2 years just reading one biography per President. I’m currently on Nixon and plan to stop after Ford. I tend to think that biographies are best written after a President has died and history has had an opportunity to render a little perspective. I’m also less interested in biographies of Presidents whose terms occurred while I have been an adult. Reagan is tempting, but I’ve made my decision.
Round two for me will start with Chernow’s book on Grant and Shelby Foote’s three-volume set on the Civil War.
But, this post isn’t supposed to be about me. It is mostly a thank you for all the reviews. Your guidance has been of immense help in sifting through the many choices for most of these biographies. My only regret was the choice of The Garfield Orbit. I think he’s one of the few President’s who might have had a profound impact on American history had he lived longer.
So, thanks.
Thank you! I love feedback (particularly of the happy type) and I also love hearing about other people reading a biography of each president. I obviously don’t think you’re going to miss too much by deferring the recent presidents – I might have done Reagan if I were in your shoes, but after that I think the “definitive” biography of each has yet to be written.
I happen to agree that Garfield had the potential to be incredible had he lived…but we will never know.
I have greatly enjoyed reading your reviews of presidential biographies and have used them as a guide to books I would then read. I’m only halfway through LBJ right now, so I still have a ways to go. Very sorry that phase “one” of your project is coming to an end, but I’m looking forward to phase “two” with eager anticipation. A quick glance of your proposed list of books shows only two I have so far read: Brookhiser’s take on Hamilton (mediocre at best) and Isaacson’s bio of Ben Franklin (excellent, in my humble opinion). One “character” notably absent (at least to me) from your list, however, is one about whom I got curious while reading your pick for best Abe Lincoln bio: Jefferson Davis. So I picked up a copy of Cooper’s 2000 bio and found it well-written. And it gave me an interesting insight into Lincoln’s “opposition.”
I look forward to many more years of reading your posts.
The Jefferson Davis bios are listed under Franklin Pierce: Hudston Strode’s trilogy, Wm. Cooper, James McPherson, and Wm. Davis.
I also enjoyed Cooper’s book. McPherson’s is more compact, but still excellent.
Yes, sorry. I just noticed the listing of Jefferson Davis books under Pierce. I had not looked there the first time. I greatly appreciate your website and I continue to marvel at your incisive reviews. Talented guy!!
No bio of John Marshall there Steve? Jean Edward Smith’s? Also have heard good things about Richard Brookheisers new one.
There are two on his list for Marshall: JES and Joel Richard Paul’s recently published bio.
After having just finished Brookhiser’s book I can suggest giving JRP’s a chance. It was good, but left a lot out.
HBM, you beat me to the punch – thanks!
I assumed you were sprinting toward the end of your marathon.
The page linked to from the Obama page contained no biography of Marshall. That is what I was going on
Ah, yes, I’m not getting to a John Marshall bio this year (so it’s not on that page) but I will be getting to at least two at some point! It has dawned on me that I need to (1) retire and (2) read more quickly…
Just wanted to leave a general “thanks” as well. I found this site when Googling “best Andrew Jackson biographies.” Your work inspired me – why read a bio for only one president? Your reviews are an excellent research tool (I’m picking one book per president) and I’ve recommended this page to many other readers. Thank you and congratulations!
I really appreciate the kind words – thank you! I’m always delighted when some aspect of my journey becomes contagious and helps someone else find the right “next book.” As always, if you stumble upon something I missed and need to read, please let me know!