President’s Day falls on February 20 this year (side note: the Library will be closed for this legal holiday), and with the upcoming election on everyone’s mind, we wanted to share a few books that explore three of our past presidents:
Mr. and Mrs. Madison’s War: America’s First Couple and the Second War of Independence by Hugh Howard (
973.52 HOW )
Historian Hugh Howard commemorates the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 with an illuminating assessment of America’s first and least understood war. Americans and the British clashed on land and sea, and from these battles arose defining elements of U.S. independence (including “The Star-Spangled Banner”). In addressing the war, Howard creates a revealing portrait of President James Madison and his wife, the leading figures in a pivotal moment in American history. History fans will enjoy reading about this important, oft-forgotten war through the eyes of America’s first couple.
The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Ce
ntury by Scott Miller (973.88 MIL)
In 1901, as America tallied its gains from a period of unprecedented
imperial expansion, an assassin’s bullet shattered the nation’s
confidence. The shocking murder of President William McKinley threw into
stark relief the emerging new world order of what would come to be
known as the American Century. The President and the Assassin is the
story of the momentous years leading up to that event, and of the very
different paths that brought together two of the most compelling figures
of the era: President William McKinley and Leon Czolgosz, the anarchist
who murdered him. With a
deft narrative hand, journalist Scott Miller chronicles how these two
men, each pursuing what he considered the right and honorable path,
collided in violence at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New
York. Along the way, readers meet a veritable who’s who of
turn-of-the-century America.
Inventing George Washington: America’s Founder in Myth and Memory by Edward G. Lengel (973.41 LEN)
An entertaining and erudite history that offers a fresh look at
America’s first founding father, the creation of his legend, and what it
means for our nation and ourselves.
And let’s not forget those nominees who never made it to the White House:
Almost President: The Men Who Lost the Race but Changed the Nation
Profiles 12 men who have run for the presidency and lost, but who, even
in defeat, have had a greater impact on American history than many of
those who have served as president.
marlise
