THE BOOK REPORT: Presidential Titles

While I write this, it is too early to tell, but all signs point to a major success for George W. Bush’s book, Decision Points. Easily one of the most polarizing presidents of all-time, his memoir has sparked both interest and reappraisal of his years as president. With the rush of the world around that office, it is no wonder that real analysis can only come years after the spotlight has moved on to the next person to rule from the Oval Office. With the apparent success of Bush’s book, regardless of the quality of the memoir (I haven’t read it), I began thinking back over the best political authors and their works, their subjects and the worlds they shaped.

David McCullough - McCullough is the most preeminent of all presidential historians, maybe of all American historians, period. His books on the presidents, Truman, John Adams, and Mornings on Horseback (Teddy Roosevelt), are the standard by which other political biographies are measured. His work on Adams is probably his most famous, popularized by the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries, but the book itself won him a Pulitzer prize. Amazingly, that award (given in 2002) was his second, having been honored in 1993 for his work on Truman. McCullough’s other works are Americana-rich, including his famous book on the Founding Fathers, 1776.

Edmund Morris - I’ve mentioned Morris’ work before, especially his trilogy on Theodore Roosevelt: The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Rex, and Colonel Roosevelt. His works on the larger-than-life President really expose the man behind the swagger and charisma. His writing on the personal tragedies of Roosevelt bring the legend to eye-level and allows the reader to embrace the reality. Morris also wrote a relatively lesser known work on Ronald Reagan, Dutch.

Write it When I’m Gone - This book, by Thomas M. DeFrank might be the most interesting concept for a political book. President Gerald Ford, placed into power after the corruption of the Watergate scandal and the fall of Nixon, agreed to be entirely candid and upfront with DeFrank on one condition: the book could not be published until after his death. While Ford is often passed over in presidential history, his honesty and frankness are a refreshing change of pace from the polished spin often given by career politicians.

While political attack books seem to emerge at an almost weekly pace, they are, sadly, almost entirely disposable. They are the victims of their own haste. The wonderful nature of politics is that it is constantly in flux, and printed words are nothing more than the mile markers that fade into the rearview mirror of memory. Political movements and personalities should be assessed through the lens of passed time, allowing perspective to moderate the emotions of the moment. Regardless of voting record, the records of past, present and future politicians are great fodder for wonderful works, crafted by the hands of great writers.