Presidential Challenge Questions

Lauren620

For those of you participating in the challenge, have you decided to read biographies of other people as a result of reading about them during a presidential bio?  Who did you read about?  And did you read the other biographies while you were reading about presidents during their time or did you pick books up on them further down the line? 

I bought a copy of Founding Mothers because it discusses some of the woman who have played a role in US history and I am really interested in reading more about Alexander Hamilton because there is so much controversy surrounding his political career.  I'm not sure when I would get to either of them, but I am definitely interested in learning more. I can see my nonfiction reading list getting longer and longer!

booneybear

I have added bios of a lot of supporting characters to the presidents to my TBR list as I go through the challenge.  

It is so easy to be captivated by all the people that helped to shape each president into what he is.  

I have also added extra bios of certain presidents.  I feel like with certain presidents (Lincoln, Grant, the Roosevelts, Kennedy, Washington, Jefferson, Reagan, etc.) one biography will not be enough.

  

Lauren620

That's how I feel too.  There is just so much information and so many people play a role in each of their stories.  I am far more invested than I thought I would be.

I've only read three, but I have been interested in reading another bio on all of them so far.  I think I will save these for when I finish, but that could change since I'm still not very far into the challenge.  Who knows how long it will take me!

SusieBW

I'm just reading Adams right now, but I completely agree! 

I'd like to read more about Alexander Hamilton, and something more about the Revolutionary War generally.  McCullough has that book 1776, and I think I will pick that up at some point for sure.  That Founding Mothers book looks really interesting, too.  For John Adams, I think someone read a book that focused more on John and Abigail than just on him, and I think I might like to read that.  In reading McCullough's John Adams now, I'm struck by their relationship, and would really enjoy reading more about it, I think. 

I'm definitely finding the whole revolutionary period more fascinating that I expected to.  I have a feeling I'm going to be saying that about a lot of different periods in American history as I go on with this challenge, though.

sweetrhythms

So far, I want to read bios of Abigail Adams and Alexander Hamilton.  Also 1776.  Now, I'm going to have to look into Founding Mothers because that sounds really interesting too.

I just started my James Madison book.  Did you pick which one you're going to read yet @Lauren620?

Lauren620

I feel like I missed out by not reading McCullough's bio on John Adams, so maybe I will add 1776 to my list to make up for it.

@sweetrhythms I have James Madison by Richard Brookhiser.  I haven't started yet and I really didn't do a lot of browsing before I picked it up, it was the first one I found.  My reading has sucked lately, so I really want to get some fiction before I start my Madison bio.  I'll let you know when I start!  Which one are you reading?

Lauren620

@SusieBW  I read Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage and while I am glad I read a bio about both of them, I didn't love the book.  I felt like it could have been written better and it took me forever to get through.  I did like getting both sides of the relationship though, because Abigail ran the household for years while John was abroad.  I found it so fascinating that she managed everything, especially during a time when women did not have the same rights as men.

SusieBW

While we're talking about it, when I looked at the blog, it didn't look like anyone read Meacham's book on Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power).  It won a Pulitzer, which makes me feel like it's probably worth reading and I'm leaning toward that one, so I'm just wondering if anyone had opinions on it.  Maybe someone did read it, but their reviews don't go on the blog or something?

SusieBW

Lauren620 said:

@SusieBW  I read Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage and while I am glad I read a bio about both of them, I didn't love the book.  I felt like it could have been written better and it took me forever to get through.  I did like getting both sides of the relationship though, because Abigail ran the household for years while John was abroad.  I found it so fascinating that she managed everything, especially during a time when women did not have the same rights as men.

Thanks!  I was just googling around for a book about them, and came across one by Joseph Ellis called First Family.  Based on your review of the one you read, maybe I'll look into the Ellis one instead!

Lauren620

SusieBW said:

While we're talking about it, when I looked at the blog, it didn't look like anyone read Meacham's book on Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power).  It won a Pulitzer, which makes me feel like it's probably worth reading and I'm leaning toward that one, so I'm just wondering if anyone had opinions on it.  Maybe someone did read it, but their reviews don't go on the blog or something?

I feel like most of my choices have been pretty haphazard so far.  I should probably start reading all of the other reviews and looking into bios that have gotten recognition before I impulsively buy them.

booneybear

SusieBW said:

While we're talking about it, when I looked at the blog, it didn't look like anyone read Meacham's book on Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power).  It won a Pulitzer, which makes me feel like it's probably worth reading and I'm leaning toward that one, so I'm just wondering if anyone had opinions on it.  Maybe someone did read it, but their reviews don't go on the blog or something?

This one wasn't released when I read Jefferson.  But I have added it to my TBR list as one that I want to go back and read.

Jen748

SusieBW said:

While we're talking about it, when I looked at the blog, it didn't look like anyone read Meacham's book on Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power).  It won a Pulitzer, which makes me feel like it's probably worth reading and I'm leaning toward that one, so I'm just wondering if anyone had opinions on it.  Maybe someone did read it, but their reviews don't go on the blog or something?

I won it on GR but after I finished TJ. I still haven't read it yet.

Jen748

I'm legit obsessed with the Adams' family. I have a crush in JQA and dream of being as strong as Abigail. I've read a lot of biographies on them.

sweetrhythms

@Lauren620 I picked Gerry Wills' short bio of Madison.  It's okay so far but I'm not thrilled with it.  I sort of just wanted a quick one because I feel like there's so much overlap with these early presidents that it starts to get redundant and I'm not that interested in reading a huge bio of Madison.

jackiback

I own but haven't read yet Chernow's bio on Alexander Hamilton and Walter Isaacson's Ben Franklin Bio and have added a handful of other supporting characters to my TBR. (Must know more about Henry Clay!)

What I've found myself doing more is finding non-fiction books on the period of time that I'm in with the challenge. It's always really interesting to learn about the political side of things, but sometimes I feel like I want to know about culture or other parts of that time too. 

I've also read several more general books about the presidency since starting: a book about First Families, a book about the sex lives of founding fathers, stuff like that- more general things that combine several presidents. 

There are a lot of great bios that came out after I finished, the TJ one, a JQA one, one JUST came out on James Madison, and a couple others that I can't think of off of the top of my head. I may loop back around when I finish and catch some of these. 

SusieBW

I'd like to read more about Franklin's time in France, too.  McCullough's Adams book is pretty scathing and makes Franklin come off as kind of a douche.  I'd be interested to read another perspective.

jackiback

SusieBW said:

I'd like to read more about Franklin's time in France, too.  McCullough's Adams book is pretty scathing and makes Franklin come off as kind of a douche.  I'd be interested to read another perspective.

They talked about Franklin in the book that I read about the sex lives of founding fathers and a couple of other books, one book of essays by Walter Isaacson and it seems like he was a pretty interesting guy. I think you either love him or hate him and I agree that David McCullough came down pretty hard on him. 

SusieBW

jackiback said:

SusieBW said:

I'd like to read more about Franklin's time in France, too.  McCullough's Adams book is pretty scathing and makes Franklin come off as kind of a douche.  I'd be interested to read another perspective.

They talked about Franklin in the book that I read about the sex lives of founding fathers and a couple of other books, one book of essays by Walter Isaacson and it seems like he was a pretty interesting guy. I think you either love him or hate him and I agree that David McCullough came down pretty hard on him. 

I think he's fascinating, and always have.  He's kind fo a jack of all trades, right?  Politics and diplomacy, inventor, entrepreneur, author, and all beginning from a very young age, and all the way until he died - it's all very impressive.  Which is why I feel like another perspective from this view that McCullough is giving me would be good.  Maybe I'll look into the Isaacson book you mentioned.

84Lauren

I just finished Andrew Jackson (need to get my review up!), and I'm starting to feel this way now too!  With the early presidents, I had actually already read quite a few historical non-fiction books (some bios, some not) on the period, so it wasn't quite the same. 

My problem is that I'm feeling the pressure to keep moving on my Presidential bios, so I can't bring myself to stop and read other ones - I'm not as fast as most of you!

SusieBW

Yeah, I'm in no rush to get through the presidential bios.  I feel like this is a lifetime undertaking for me.  If I get to 2 or 3 a year, I'm satisfied.

84Lauren

SusieBW said:

Yeah, I'm in no rush to get through the presidential bios.  I feel like this is a lifetime undertaking for me.  If I get to 2 or 3 a year, I'm satisfied.

My goal is to be caught up to the present by the President after next, so 6 years, give or take

jackiback

This is going to sound horrible and you can take it as me being a horrible person if you want, but I am looking forward to reading bios about the more current presidents after they have passed away. 

I am coming to a point (I'm reading Carter now) where there just are not any unbiased (or even lightly biased, which I'm generally ok with, really) biographies. Carter is my first bio where the president is still living, but even Ford and Nixon were tough because there's just no perspective, if you know what I mean.

I feel like with a lot of the other presidents, there was this feel of, "So he did these things and it seemed off then, but now it has effected the country in this way. This is the way that he as positively or negatively changed the course of our country" and with modern presidents, there's just none of that. It's all just too close.

I am going to finish out the challenge even though I'm having a hard time finding solid biographies, but in the far future, I look forward to reading about these guys after there is some distance between us and their presidencies. 

booneybear

I have given up on writing reviews.  I HATE writing reviews.  And when a book takes me as long to read as the Chester Arthur one did, I don't want to spend another minute thinking, reading or writing about it.  

I will continue to do the star ratings on goodreads but my review days are over.

SusieBW

@jackiback, I've considered reading books written by the Presidents themselves if/when I ever get caught up (like I said, I'm in no rush).  They all write books nowadays, and while that is obviously more biased than anything, it's their own voice, know what I mean?  Because I think you're right about it being so difficult to find something objective so soon after their term ends.  And, there are like, a million books about each and every single facet of their presidency, written by whoever feels like it, because the real historians aren't interested in them yet.

sweetrhythms

@SusieBW that sounds like a really good idea.  I might have to do that if I ever get to that point in the challenge...