The Best Presidential Writing: From 1789 to the Present

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A sweeping and groundbreaking treasury of the most essential presidential writings, featuring a mix of the beloved and the little-known, from stirring speeches and shrewd remarks to behind-the-scenes drafts and unpublished autobiographies.

From the early years of our nations history, when George Washington wrote his humble yet powerful Farewell Address, to our current age, when Barack Obama delivered his moving speech on the fiftieth anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery marches, Americas presidents have upheld a tradition of exceptional writing. Now, for the first time, the greatest presidential writings in history are united in one monumental treasury: the very best campaign orations, early autobiographies, presidential speeches, postpresidential reflections, and much more.

In these pages, we see not only the words that shaped our nation, like Abraham Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation and Franklin D. Roosevelts Infamy speech, but also the words of young politicians claiming their place in our history, including excerpts from Woodrow Wilsons Congressional Government and Obamas career-making convention speech, and the words of mature leaders reflecting on their legacies, including John Adamss autobiography and Harry S. Trumans Memoirs. We even see hidden sides of the presidents that the public rarely glimpses: noted outdoorsman Teddy Roosevelts great passion for literature or sunny Ronald Reagans piercing childhood memories of escorting home his alcoholic father.

Encompassing notable favorites like Lincolns Gettysburg Address and John F. Kennedys Inaugural Address as well as lesser-known texts like Thomas Jeffersons Notes on the State of Virginia and James Polks candid White House diary, The Best Presidential Writing showcases Americas presidents as thinkers, citizens, and leaders.

More than simply a curation of must-read presidential writings, this unique collection presents the story of America itself, told by its highest leaders. Even the most famous speeches find new meanings or fresh connections when read in this sweeping context, making The Best Presidential Writing a trove full of insight and an essential historical document.

Reviews

PRAISE FORAUTHOR IN CHIEF:

"One of the best books on the American presidency to appear in recent years. . . . Delightfully instructive.
Thomas Mallon, TheWall Street Journal

Joyfully engrossing . . . Juicy controversies and conversation-starters are the consistently found treats of Author in Chief, regardless of where you find yourself on the political spectrum. And the implication throughoutthat books are vitally important to the nations soulwill surely appeal to red and blue state readers alike.
Steve Donoghue, Christian Science Monitor

A breezy, anecdote-rich account of the memoirs and autobiographies that have helped candidates running for office . . . Most presidents books have aimed to entertain, and that might also be said of Author in Chief. But Fehrman has done his homework. His bibliographical essays are impressively thorough, particularly on works on the study of writing, publishing and reading. His readers will learn a lot.
The Washington Post

Credit to Craig Fehrman for the compendiousness, readability, and general exuberance of hisAuthor in Chief.
James Parker, The Atlantic

If youre a history buff, a presidential trivia aficionado, or just a lover of American literary history, this book will transfix you, inform you, and surprise you.
Paul Constant, The Seattle Review of Books

Fehrman examines the writing by every United States president, situating each within his historical contextand revealing vanities, insecurities, and intrigues along the way. Taking us on a journey from a bygone era when books were peddled on the back of a wagon rolling through the undeveloped countryside, to the modern rise of the eight-figure blockbuster book deal, Fehrman reveals that presidents and their words are as subject to history as they are shapers of it.
Andrew Heisel, The Yale Review

Fehrman offers a decade of painstaking research boiled down into a supremely engaging narrative about presidents and their relationship to reading and writing.
Rebecca Rego Barry, Fine Books Magazine

Fehrman discovered that one of the best ways to understand a nations history is to read the books their leaders penned. . . . Author in Chief, a compelling history of presidential books, is perhaps more accurately described as a love letter to the power of the written word.
Caleb Gotthardt, Bookbub

Author in Chief is an absolutely absorbing read. . . . Its a years-long undertaking packed with an incredible depth of research and thoughtful analysis, all of it devoted to exploring the literary output of our presidents. Fehrman walks us through the entirety of American history . . . The combination of exceptionally detailed research and well-crafted prose results in a truly engaging work of nonfiction. Its a fascinating look at American history that isnt quite like anything youve read before, a chance to view the men who have led this country through a different and very specific lens.
Allen Adams, The Maine Edge

Entertaining and illuminating . . . Fehrmans deep research delivers a wealth of intriguing tidbits (Jimmy Carter leased a $12,000 word processor to composeKeeping the Faith; the Committee to Boycott Nixons Memoirs sold T-shirts and bumper stickers with the slogan Dont Buy Books by Crooks), which are complemented by a generous selection of illustrations. Bibliophiles and presidential history buffs alike will relish this gratifying deep dive into an underappreciated genre.
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From the very beginnings of Americas experiment in republican government, its chief executives, both actual and aspiring, have put pen to paper (nowadays fingers to keyboard) in attempts to justify themselves and inspire others. Here, Fehrman records such literary efforts back to Jefferson and Adams. . . . Both history buffs and politics enthusiasts will relish this.
Booklist (starred review)

A lively account of the literary achievements (and failures) of Americas presidents. . . . The author covers a great deal of ground that even major biographers have skipped over in favor of sexier storylines, yet to the book lover, these stories will be unquestionably enticing. Even the footnotes, appendix, and sources offer bookish gems. Fehrmans illuminating blend of presidential and publishing history with literary criticism will appeal to amateur historians and bibliophiles alike.
Kirkus Reviews

Conversational, engaging, and compelling, backed by extensive research and appendices . . . Bookworms, lovers of history, and political junkies will find a lot to like here.
Indianapolis Monthly

[An] eye-opener of a read . . . For both the scholar and the casually curious, there is a lot to learn about our presidents. . . . There are the predictable standoutsWashington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Grant, Roosevelt,and Kennedyand some outstanding surprises, such as Coolidge, Truman,and Reagan.
BookPage

Original, illuminating, and entertainingas good history can beCraig Fehrmans Author in Chief is a book that should have been written, and should surely be read. By looking at presidents through the prism of their published writings, Fehrman throws new light on what John F. Kennedyhimself an author-presidentcalled the vital center of action.
Jon Meacham, author of The Soul of America

Craig Fehrman takes us from Thomas Jeffersona president who happened also to be the best prose stylist aroundto the age of the obligatory campaign biography, on to the modern blockbuster.Along the way we meet revisionists, ghost writers (Truman went through four), runaway bestsellers (it seems there was a sport at which Calvin Coolidge excelled), surprising flops. We learn that the Civil War turned the occasional authorial impulse into a flood of literature; that Nathaniel Hawthorne quietly wrote a campaign biography; that the most literate presidents can meet with the worst reviews.Shapely, original, and brimming in anecdote, Author in Chief expertly illuminates, amid much else, how history finds its way into the books.
Stacy Schiff,author of The Witches

This book is just as fun and fascinating when taking you insidethe minds of presidents as into ordinary eighteenth-century bookworms. Its witty, charming, fantastically learned, and engrossing. I loved it.
Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland

CAUTION: This book contains material highly addictive to history lovers. From its account of Thomas Jeffersons monumental efforts to bring out hisNotes on the State of Virginia, to the description of John Kennedys fraudulent claims about writingProfiles in Courage, Craig FehrmansAuthor in Chiefachieves what every original thesis should. The accumulated myths that we call our history are shattered by the recovery of the true facts. Im annoyed right now that I didnt write this disciplined, enormously engaging narrative myself.
Rinker Buck, author ofThe Oregon Trail

Author In Chief takes the reader into the hearts and minds of Americas presidents as they seek to define their legacies through literature. From Lincoln and Kennedy to Bush and Obama, Fehrman brings these men to life and allows us to seetheir struggles and revel in their successes. It offers an entirely new perspective into what it feels like to be president and how critical self-expression is to the study of American history.
Kate Andersen Brower, author of The Residence, First Women, and First in Line

This engrossing and delightful work offers a fresh lens on famous presidents and a new understanding of obscure ones. Fehrman explains how the uneven written work of presidentsoriginal and ghostwrittenreveals the curious intersection of power and publishing.
Jonathan Alter, author ofThe Promise

Author Bio

Craig Fehrman, a journalist and historian, spent more than a decade immersed in the presidents writings to produce his first book, Author in Chief, which was described by Thomas Mallon in The Wall Street Journal as one of the best books on the American presidency to appear in recent years. Fehrman lives in Indiana with his wife and children.