Casey's Presidential Biography Challenge Progress

[Casey]

Overall Progress (11/46)

1. Washington
2. Adams
3. Jefferson
4. Madison
5. Monroe
6. J Q Adams- Completed 2024
7. Jackson- Completed 2020
8. Van Buren
9. Harrison
10. Tyler
11. Polk
12. Taylor- Completed 2024
13. Fillmore
14. Pierce
15. Buchanan
16. Lincoln- Completed 2019
17. Johnson
18. Grant
19. Hayes
20. Garfield
21. Arthur
22. Cleveland
23. Harrison
24. Cleveland
25. Mckinley
26. T Roosevelt
27. Taft
28. Wilson
29. Harding-Completed 2024
30. Coolidge
31. Hoover-Completed 2023
32. F Roosevelt-Completed 2019
33. Truman- Completed 2020
34. Eisenhower-Completed 2020
35. Kennedy-Completed 2022
36. Johnson
37. Nixon
38. Ford
39. Carter
40. Reagan
41. HW Bush
42. Clinton
43. W Bush -Completed 2019
44. Obama
45. Trump
46. Biden

[Casey]

At least to start off, I decided to not go in order, and am choosing what to read based on interest. I'm not much of a reviewer but I will probably leave a few thoughts on each book I read.

- FDR- Jean Edward Smith

FDR was one of the Presidents I most wanted to read about so I chose him to kick off my challenge. I read Jean Edward Smith's "FDR" and I enjoyed it. It moved pretty quickly and wasn't overly dense. The legislation he was able to pass to address the issues of the day was fascinating, since today it often feels we get stuck. I would have liked a little more focus on Eleanor and his family than I felt it offered, but that could be my own bias in having an interest in her. Overall it was excellent, but FDR is also a president I plan to read at least one more biography on, if not more. It was a great place to start, and a fascinating President who I feel accomplished a lot.

- Bush- Jean Edward Smith

For my 2nd read, I again choose to go with Jean Edward Smith, this time with "Bush". While Smith's writing is again easy and quick to read, his dislike of Bush was obvious. Part of the problem is it is probably just too soon to have a really definitive biography of Bush, especially since decisions made during his presidency are still having impacts today, i.e. the conflicts in the Middle East. I wanted to fill in some of my knowledge gaps, since Bush was elected when I was still quite young, and I did feel that it did that.

[Casey]

- Lincoln- David Herbert Donald

This took me awhile to get through. It's well researched, but I found the writing to be dry. The first half of the book especially bogged me down, I found the detail it went in to on his legal career to be tedious. As for Lincoln- I didn't realize how immediately the civil war coincided with his election to the presidency, or how it consumed essentially his entire presidency until his death. I plan on reading Team of Rivals, and there is so much on Lincoln when I eventually finish this challenge I will most likely try another bio on him, especially since I wasn't really crazy about this one.

[Joseph]

I usually like a lot of detail, so I might take a look at it one day.

[Casey]

Eisenhower in War and Peace- Jean Edward Smith

This wraps up a 3rd JES book and the last I'll read for this challenge. The majority of the book is focused on Eisenhower's military career. The book took me a while to get through, military history is not my favorite and I got fatigued reading about it. One of the most interesting things to me was Eisenhower's temperament. His experience as a military leader to me seemed to lend well to him being pretty level headed as a president.

[Dona]

I just finished The Life of Andrew Jackson by Remini. I am going in order so my next will be Martin Van Buren. All I know about him is what I learned in the Jackson bio. Jackson was an interesting read.

[Casey]

Dona wrote: "I just finished The Life of Andrew Jackson by Remini. I am going in order so my next will be Martin Van Buren. All I know about him is what I learned in the Jackson bio. Jackson was an interesting ..."

I am currently reading Jackson now, Meacham's American Lion. Not sure how crazy I am about his writing style

[Dona]

Remini is no Chernow but the life of Jackson made it a worthwhile read.

[Casey]

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House- Jon Meacham

This focuses almost solely on Jackson's White House years. It skims over his life up to the point of his first term. I found the first half of the book a bit dull, the first 3 years of his presidency there was a lot of drama between his relatives and cabinet members/wives that just didn't hold my interest for 100 pages worth. The second half of the book was much better. His political ability, how he wanted to have a mandate from the people and not just congress, and how often he got is way was interesting. This bio is not overly detailed, I'd like something for a future read that delves into his childhood/early adulthood and his dealings with native Americans more than this offered. It gives a solid overview of his presidency without being cumbersome.

[Casey]

Truman- David McCullough

This was excellent! The 6th biography and President I've finished for this challenge. I loved McCullough's writing style and look forward to reading more by him. I knew not a thing about Truman and by the time I finished had a good appreciation for him. A very every day American who ended up in the Presidency, he was a farmer, soldier, no college education. It's a very comprehensive biography of his entire life.

[Casey]

A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House - Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.

Its been a while since I last completed a book for this challenge. I had been chugging through this one a bit at a time. It's quite long, just over 1,000 pages of reading. Schlesinger worked in the Kennedy administration and wrote this not long after Kennedy's death making this not quite the typical biography, and also shows a clear admiration for his subject. The focus of this book is largely on his presidential years, touching only a bit on his early years, and concludes with his death but no aftermath. The writing style is very easy to read, but it's very long winded in some parts.

[Casey]

Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times

I have a long way to go in this challenge, but Hoover's biography so far is the one where my opinion on the subject changed the most by reading it. I knew very little on Hoover going in, largely just associating him with the Great Depression. This was a well written and illuminating bio, Hoover was quite talented and had many accomplishments that ultimately were overshadowed by the depression.

John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit

The first half of this book is fantastic, the second half falls of a bit and feels slightly disorganized. His one term presidency felt like a blip in his overall life, with his work prior to and post presidency being more interesting/lasting to his legacy.

[Casey]

Warren G. Harding

Zachary Taylor

Both of these books are apart of The American Presidents series. They are pretty brief, less than 200 pages of reading each. Neither Harding nor Taylor were president for long nor are there many biographies to pick from on them, so these sufficed in a quick overview of their lives/Presidencies.

[Bryan]

Casey wrote: " Warren G. Harding

Zachary Taylor

Both of these books are apart of The American Presidents seri..."

I read these books too because that was all I could find at the library or in general.