TANGENT

America 250 · Semiquincentennial

Read Every President

The best modern biography of every U.S. president, plus the best film or series and the best memoir where they exist. 45 unique people across 47 administrations.

  1. #1 · 1789–1797

    George Washington

    Ron Chernow, Washington: A Life

  2. #2 · 1797–1801

    John Adams

    David McCullough, John Adams

  3. #3 · 1801–1809

    Thomas Jefferson

    Jon Meacham, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

  4. #4 · 1809–1817

    James Madison

    Noah Feldman, The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President

  5. #5 · 1817–1825

    James Monroe

    Tim McGrath, James Monroe: A Life

  6. #6 · 1825–1829

    John Quincy Adams

    Fred Kaplan, John Quincy Adams: American Visionary

  7. #7 · 1829–1837

    Andrew Jackson

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

  8. #8 · 1837–1841

    Martin Van Buren

    Ted Widmer, Martin Van Buren

  9. #9 · 1841

    William Henry Harrison

    Gail Collins, William Henry Harrison

  10. #10 · 1841–1845

    John Tyler

    Edward P. Crapol, John Tyler, the Accidental President

  11. #11 · 1845–1849

    James K. Polk

    Walter R. Borneman, Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America

  12. #12 · 1849–1850

    Zachary Taylor

    John S.D. Eisenhower, Zachary Taylor

  13. #13 · 1850–1853

    Millard Fillmore

    Paul Finkelman, Millard Fillmore

  14. #14 · 1853–1857

    Franklin Pierce

    Michael F. Holt, Franklin Pierce

  15. #15 · 1857–1861

    James Buchanan

    Jean H. Baker, James Buchanan

  16. #16 · 1861–1865

    Abraham Lincoln

    David Herbert Donald, Lincoln

  17. #17 · 1865–1869

    Andrew Johnson

    Annette Gordon-Reed, Andrew Johnson

  18. #18 · 1869–1877

    Ulysses S. Grant

    Ron Chernow, Grant

  19. #19 · 1877–1881

    Rutherford B. Hayes

    Ari Hoogenboom, Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President

  20. #20 · 1881

    James A. Garfield

    Candice Millard, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

  21. #21 · 1881–1885

    Chester A. Arthur

    Scott S. Greenberger, The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur

  22. #22/24 · 1885–1889, 1893–1897

    Grover Cleveland

    Troy Senik, A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland

  23. #23 · 1889–1893

    Benjamin Harrison

    Charles W. Calhoun, Benjamin Harrison

  24. #25 · 1897–1901

    William McKinley

    Robert W. Merry, President McKinley: Architect of the American Century

  25. #26 · 1901–1909

    Theodore Roosevelt

    Edmund Morris, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

  26. #27 · 1909–1913

    William Howard Taft

    Jeffrey Rosen, William Howard Taft

  27. #28 · 1913–1921

    Woodrow Wilson

    A. Scott Berg, Wilson

  28. #29 · 1921–1923

    Warren G. Harding

    John W. Dean, Warren G. Harding

  29. #30 · 1923–1929

    Calvin Coolidge

    Amity Shlaes, Coolidge

  30. #31 · 1929–1933

    Herbert Hoover

    Kenneth Whyte, Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times

  31. #32 · 1933–1945

    Franklin D. Roosevelt

    Jean Edward Smith, FDR

  32. #33 · 1945–1953

    Harry S. Truman

    David McCullough, Truman

  33. #34 · 1953–1961

    Dwight D. Eisenhower

    Jean Edward Smith, Eisenhower in War and Peace

  34. #35 · 1961–1963

    John F. Kennedy

    Robert Dallek, An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963

  35. #36 · 1963–1969

    Lyndon B. Johnson

    Robert A. Caro, The Path to Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson

  36. #37 · 1969–1974

    Richard Nixon

    John A. Farrell, Richard Nixon: The Life

  37. #38 · 1974–1977

    Gerald Ford

    Richard Norton Smith, An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford

  38. #39 · 1977–1981

    Jimmy Carter

    Jonathan Alter, His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life

  39. #40 · 1981–1989

    Ronald Reagan

    H.W. Brands, Reagan: The Life

  40. #41 · 1989–1993

    George H. W. Bush

    Jon Meacham, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush

  41. #42 · 1993–2001

    Bill Clinton

    David Maraniss, First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton

  42. #43 · 2001–2009

    George W. Bush

    Peter Baker, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House

  43. #44 · 2009–2017

    Barack Obama

    David Remnick, The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama

  44. #45/47 · 2017–2021, 2025–

    Donald Trump

    Maggie Haberman, Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America

  45. #46 · 2021–2025

    Joe Biden

    Evan Osnos, Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now

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