Listmania!
My Favorite Biographies of the Twentieth Century
By an Amazon.com customer
Thomas E. Dewey and His TimesThomas E. Dewey and His Times by Richard Norton Smith
Buy used from: $0.01
A marvelous look at a forgotten political giant, and maybe the best governor New York State ever had.
Mr. Republican: A Biography of Robert A. TaftMr. Republican: A Biography of Robert A. Taft by James T. Patterson
Buy used from: $8.00
My favorite political biography, an outstanding account of one of the most powerful men ever to sit in the United States Senate.
Nixon Volume INixon Volume I by Stephen E. Ambrose
Buy used from: $1.29
Simply the best book written about Nixon's life and political career - an unusually balanced and fair-minded look at Nixon's first fifty years.
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory, 1874-1932The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory, 1874-1932 by William Manchester
Buy new: $16.50 / Used from: $3.72
Reads more like great literature than a simple biography - a larger-than-life book about a larger-than-life man.
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Modern Library Paperbacks)The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Modern Library Paperbacks) by Edmund Morris
Buy new: $12.21 / Used from: $0.99
Morris' biography of President Reagan may have been an abysmal failure - but this magnificent volume about Teddy Roosevelt's dramatic rise to the Presidency more than makes up for it!
FDR: A BiographyFDR: A Biography by Ted Morgan
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The best and most objective look yet at a devious but idealistic political leader - Morgan provides a great "warts and all" look at an enigmatic yet revolutionary American President.
The Path to Power (The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 1)The Path to Power (The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 1) by Robert A. Caro
Buy new: $14.96 / Used from: $2.99
Easily the most detailed and well-researched bio of any American President's early life - a searing portrait of Lyndon Johnson which his admirers may hate but which is still highly convincing.
TrumanTruman by David McCullough
Buy new: $15.84 / Used from: $1.81
McCullough indulges in a little too much "hero-worshiping" of Truman for my taste, but this is still the best presidential biography of the last decade.
Coolidge: An American EnigmaCoolidge: An American Enigma by Robert Sobel
Buy used from: $8.99
A fascinating look at a poorly understood and unfairly maligned man who led America through the "Roaring Twenties".
LeeLee by Douglas Southall Freeman
Buy new: $17.16 / Used from: $9.98
My favorite bio of an American military leader; still the best presentation of Robert E Lee nearly seventy years after it was first published.
Woodrow WilsonWoodrow Wilson by August Heckscher
Buy used from: $3.74
The best one-volume bio of our most underrated "great" President; an eloquent tribute to a complex and ultimately tragic President.
Adlai Stevenson: His Life and LegacyAdlai Stevenson: His Life and Legacy by Porter McKeever
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A moving tribute to a great hero of liberal Democrats by one of his former friends and supporters.
Robert Kennedy and His TimesRobert Kennedy and His Times by Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr.
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Schlesinger may have become little more than an apologist for the Kennedys, but this is still his best book on America's "Royal Family" - elegant, compassionate, and nostalgic.
Kennedy and Nixon: The Rivalry That Shaped Postwar AmericaKennedy and Nixon: The Rivalry That Shaped Postwar America by Christopher J Matthews
Buy new: $10.88 / Used from: $0.93
An entertaining look at one of the greatest political rivalries in American history - John F. Kennedy versus Richard M. Nixon (and it's fair to both sides)!
Henry Clay: Statesman for the UnionHenry Clay: Statesman for the Union by Robert V. Remini
Buy new: $14.93 / Used from: $6.00
A marvelous biography of my favorite nineteenth-century politician, a sympathetic yet objective look at the "Great Compromiser" and Kentucky Gentleman who kept the Civil War at bay for thirty years.