Presidential Biography Assignment
Everyone must read one book from the following list. The last portion of this course focuses closely on individual presidents. This assignment is designed to broaden your knowledge of at least one modern president. You should select a book that interests you. You are encouraged, of course, to read more than one.
You should complete this reading over the course of the semester. A question on the final exam will give you an opportunity to draw on this biographical material.
A more complete
list of presidential biographies is available as a resource for research
papers.
| Author | Title | Date | Presidency |
| Bernstein, Irving | Guns or Butter: The Presidency of Lynson Johnson | 1996 | Johnson, L.B. |
| Califano, Joseph A., Jr. | The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson | 1991 | Johnson, L.B. |
| Dallek, Robert | Lyndon B. Johnson: Portrait of a President | 2004 | Johnson, L.B. |
| Johnson, Lyndon B. | The Vantage Point | 1971 | Johnson, L.B. |
| Goodwin, Kearns Doris | Lyndon Johnson And The American Dream | 1976 | Johnson, L.B. |
| Woods, Randall | LBJ: Architect of American Ambition | 2006 | Johnson, L.B. |
| Aitken, Jonathan | Nixon: A Life | 1993 | Nixon |
| Haldeman, H. R. | The Haldeman Diaries: Inside the Nixon White House | 1994 | Nixon |
| Nixon, Richard | RN: The Memoirs Of Richard Nixon | 1978 | Nixon |
| Parmet, Herbert S. | Richard Nixon and His America | 1990 | Nixon |
| Perlstein, Rick | Nixonland | 2008 | Nixon |
| Reeves, Richard | President Nixon: Alone in the White House | 2002 | Nixon |
| Wicker, Tom | One of Us: Richard Nixon and the American Dream | 1991 | Nixon |
| Bourne, Peter | Jimmy Carter: A Comprehensive Biography | 1997 | Carter |
| Carter, Jimmy | Keeping Faith | 1982 | Carter |
| Cannon, Lou | President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime | 1991 | Reagan |
| Cannon, Lou | Ronald Reagan: A Life in Politics | 2004 | Reagan |
| Morris, Edmund | Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan | 2000 | Reagan |
| Reagan, Ronald | An American Life | 1990 | Reagan |
| Reeves, Richard | President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination | 2005 | Reagan |
| Parmet, Herbert S. | George Bush: The Life of a Lone Star Yankee | 1997 | GHW Bush |
| Clinton, Bill | My Life: The Presidential Years | 2004 | Clinton |
| Harris, John F. | The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House | 2005 | Clinton |
| Maraniss, David | First In His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton | 1995 | Clinton |
| Rubin, Robert | In an Uncertain World | 2003 | Clinton |
| Stephanopolous, George | All Too Human | 2000 | Clinton |