Review of “James Monroe: A Life” by Tim McGrath

May 10, 2020

Released on May 5, “James Monroe: A Life” by Tim McGrath is the first comprehensive exploration of Monroe’s life in …

Getting Right with Lincoln (and Ronald White)

April 29, 2020

Those of you who have taken some or all of this journey through the best presidential biographies with me know …

March 3, 2020

“Herbert Hoover in the White House: The Ordeal of the Presidency” by Charles Rappleye was published in 2016, just a …

February 17, 2020

About 7 years ago I embarked on a great adventure: to read the best biographies of every U.S. president and …

January 28, 2020

Alonza Hamby’s “Man of Destiny: FDR and the Making of the American Century” was published in 2015 and is one …

January 9, 2020

Based on emails I regularly receive, as well as comments posted to this site, I know that many of you …

January 5, 2020

Willard Sterne Randall’s “Thomas Jefferson: A Life” was published in 1993. Randall spent the first seventeen years of his professional …

July 22, 2019

Lynne Cheney’s “James Madison: A Life Reconsidered” was published in 2014, about a year after I read four biographies of …

June 28, 2019

James Traub’s “John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit” was published in 2016, about three years after I read four other biographies …