Inventing a Nation: Washington, Adams, Jefferson

Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different

Gordon S. Wood · 321 pages

A series of studies of the men who came to be known as the Founding Fathers. Each life is considered in the round, but the thread that binds the work together is the idea of character as a lived reality for these men. For these were men, Wood shows, who took the matter of character very seriously. They were the first generation in history that was self-consciously self-made, men who considered the

Washington: A Life

Ron Chernow · 928 pages

In this work, the author, a biographer provides a portrait of the father of our nation, dashing forever the stereotype of a stolid, unemotional man, and revealing an astute and surprising portrait of a canny political genius who knew how to inspire people.

My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams

Abigail Adams, John Adams · 528 pages

A collection of letters between Abigail and John Adams written from 1762 to 1801 covering topics of revolution, independence, and nation building, along with those that reflect their love for one another.

Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation

Cokie Roberts · 359 pages

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Cokie Roberts comes New York Times bestseller Founding Mothers, an intimate and illuminating look at the fervently patriotic and passionate women whose tireless pursuits on behalf of their families–and their country–proved just as crucial to the forging of a new nation as the rebellion that established it. While much has been written about the men who sign

American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

Joseph J. Ellis · 440 pages

For a man who insisted that life on the public stage was not what he had in mind, Thomas Jefferson certainly spent a great deal of time in the spotlight--and not only during his active political career. After 1809, his longed-for retirement was compromised by a steady stream of guests and tourists who made of his estate at Monticello a virtual hotel, as well as by more than one thousand letters pe

1776

David McCullough · 393 pages

In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence -- when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper. Based

Thomas Jefferson: A Life

Willard Sterne Randall

Long Walk to Freedom

Nelson Mandela · 638 pages

The riveting memoirs of the outstanding moral and political leader of our time, Long Walk to Freedom brilliantly recreates the drama of the experiences that helped shape Nelson Mandela's destiny. Emotive, compelling and uplifting, Long Walk to Freedom is the exhilarating story of an epic life; a story of hardship, resilience and ultimate triumph told with the clarity and eloquence of a born leader

The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary

Candace Fleming · 177 pages

Though Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln's backgrounds differed considerably, both were intellectuals who shared interests in literature and politics, as well as a great love for each other.

Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip

Matthew Algeo · 262 pages

From Missouri to New York and back again, this recounting of an amazing journey chronicles the road trip of a former president and his wife and their amusing, failed attempts to keep a low profile. Diners, bellhops, and cabbies shouted out “Hiya, Harry!” whenever they recognized the former president, and, out for his daily constitutional on the streets of New York, Harry even stumbled into the sid

The Age of Jackson

Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. · 576 pages

Bloody Times: The Funeral of Abraham Lincoln and the Manhunt for Jefferson Davis

James L. Swanson · 202 pages

"On the morning of April 2, 1865, Jefferson Davis received a telegram from General Robert E. Lee. There is no more time--the Yankees are coming, it warned. That night Davis fled Richmond, setting off an intense manhunt for the Confederate president. Two weeks later, President Lincoln was assassinated, and the nation was convinced that Davis was involved in the conspiracy that led to the crime. Jam

First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies

Kate Andersen Brower · 398 pages

Brower draws on a wide array of untapped, candid sources to tell the stories of the ten remarkable women who have defined the role of First Lady of the United States since 1960. From Jackie Kennedy to Michelle Obama, she offers new insights into this privileged group, and shares stories exploring everything from the first ladies political crusades to their rivalries with Washington figures; from t

The Death of a President: November 1963

William Manchester · 736 pages

An account of the assassination of President Kennedy and the days after culled from "evidence and recollection, scenes and moods, quotations and opinions from an enormous number of observers and participants." Pub W.

Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever

Bill O'Reilly, Dwight Jon Zimmerman

Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution

James M. McPherson · 173 pages

James McPherson offers a series of thoughtful and engaging essays on aspects of Lincoln and the war that have rarely been discussed in depth. McPherson displays his keen insight and sterling prose as he examines several critical themes in American history. He looks closely at the President's role as Commander-in-Chief of the Union forces, showing how Lincoln forged a national military strategy for

Jefferson and the Rights of Man

Dumas Malone · 523 pages

The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made It

Richard Hofstadter · 560 pages

Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship

Jon Meacham · 518 pages

The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century

Scott Miller · 422 pages

The era leading up to the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 was defined by enormous expansion in American industry and muscle-flexing abroad as well as the potent rise of labor unrest and revolutionary ideas such as anarchy. The growth of railroads, steel output, consumer goods, patents and sheer American ingenuity enriched the captains of industry, while the laborers, assembly-l

The Mantle of Command: FDR at War, 1941–1942

Nigel Hamilton

1864: Lincoln at the Gates of History

Charles Bracelen Flood · 521 pages

Historian-biographer Charles Bracelen Flood brings to life the drama of Lincoln's final year, in which he oversaw the last campaigns of the Civil War, was reelected as president, and laid out his majestic vision for the nation's future in a reunified South and in the expanding West. In that crucial year, the Civil War was far from won: as the year began, Lincoln had yet to appoint Ulysses S. Grant

Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President

Harold Holzer · 374 pages

Listening In: The Secret White House Recordings of John F. Kennedy

Ted Widmer · 320 pages

A uniquely unscripted, insider account of Kennedy and his cabinet grappling with the day-to-day business of the White House and guiding the nation through a hazardous era of uncertainty. Features extensively annotated transcripts of the recordings and a foreword by Caroline Kennedy.