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Presidential books

Bibliophiles Corner

 

To honor George Washington’s birthday, Presidents Day was declared a federal holiday 145 years ago. Originally celebrated on February 22, which is Washington’s birthday according to the Gregorian calendar (see pullout box below), the holiday was changed to the third Monday in February due to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968, which gave the American worker three, three-day weekends: Presidents Day, Memorial Day and Columbus Day.

Although never officially observed, the addition of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, has been added to the celebration in many states, citing Washington’s and Lincoln’s contributions to the birth and continuation of our nation.

Colorado calls it “Washington-Lincoln Day.” So, this Washington-Lincoln Day, grab a presidential book to pay tribute to the leaders of our country.

 

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow “carries the reader through Washington’s troubled boyhood, his precocious feats in the French and Indian Wars, his creation of Mount Vernon, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army, his presiding over the Constitutional Conventional and his magnificent performance as America’s first president,” exclaims the book blurb.

 

Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin is a book with many facets: biography, history, self-help and leadership. Acclaimed political commentator and biographer Goodwin uses four presidents—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson—in her case study about leadership and the building of America.

 

The Inner Circle by Brad Meltzer is the first novel of the Culper Ring trilogy. The most well-kept secret of the U.S. presidency is accidently uncovered by a National Archives archivist and his childhood crush, setting off events that unravel conspiracy and murder.

 

The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, published in 2018, is a modern political thriller. The nation is facing an unprecedented attack with rumors of espionage at the highest levels, so even the president becomes a suspect. Then he disappears. The story is told in real time over the course of three days.

 

All the President’s Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein “is a riveting detective story, capturing the exhilarating rush of the biggest presidential scandal in U.S. history as it unfolded in real time,” reads the book blurb. Woodward and Bernstein broke the Watergate story and ultimately brought down a president. Their work for The Washington Post won a Pulitzer Prize for their comprehensive and explosive reporting.

 

11/22/63 by Stephen King is a time traveling horror story about an English teacher who tries to prevent the Kennedy assassination. From 2011, Jake leaves modern technology in the present, trading it for a trip through a diner storeroom portal to 1958 and a new life in a past world where time follows different rules.

 

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard takes the reader to 1881 and a nation still recovering from the Civil War. At the heart of this story is the short presidency of James A. Garfield. Nominated against his will, his busy but brief term ended with his assassination. The intense, behind-the-scenes battles for power and the president’s life during his torturous last three months are stranger than fiction.

 

The President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy is a “history of the private relationships among the last thirteen presidents, uncovering and exploring the partnerships, private deals, rescue mission, and rivalries of those few men who served as commander in chief,” states the summary. This unique history was published in 2012.

 

The Complete Book of US Presidents, Fourth Edition: Updated for 2021 by Bill Yenne is an illustrated coffee table book with interesting facts and stories, including biographical essays, about all 46 U.S. presidents. The official White House portraits are included along with information about first ladies and vice presidents.

 

Secret Lives of the First Ladies: What Your Teachers Never Told You About the Women of the White House by Cormac O’Brien spotlights all the first ladies from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama. This book is organized so each first lady has her own chapter full of “outrageous and uncensored profiles, complete with hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect and downright wacko facts,” states the back blurb.


Facts about Presidents Day:

  • Delaware does not observe Washington’s birthday as a federal holiday.
  • Presidents Day is celebrated on the third Monday in February
  • George Washington was born on February 11, 1731, under the Julian calendar. When Britian and her colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, many people including Washington adjusted their birthdays to account for the differences: one year and 11 days due to leap year and other discrepancies between the two systems. Washington’s official birthday changed to February 22, 1732.

 

By Celeste McNeil; courtesy photos

CPC

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