How To Succeed in Reading Through a Biography of Every US President

My best tips for reading through the Presidents

If you haven’t seen my post about my presidential reading project, start here. And here are my top 10 presidential biographies.

I think it is safe to say that most Americans were a little shocked and feeling lost following the Presidential election of 2020. The political climate, especially since 2016, has been filled with divisiveness, to put it mildly. Along with the advent of social media, misinformation, and major news media biases everyone has spent these past few years with their heads spinning. I felt like I was dropped into a movie 45 minutes late and had no idea what was going on. I felt like I needed the back story. Were things always this divisive? So messy? I thought I had learned about US history in school but I could not make sense of what was going on in our country.

So, in my usual go down the rabbit hole mode, I decided to learn about US history. I wanted to go back to the beginning of our history, and see if I could figure out how we have gotten to where we are. I needed context. I had no idea where to start. I came across an idea of reading a biography of every US President and after debating for a couple of months and slowly sharing my idea with others (who mostly said they could never do something like that), I decided to go for it. I was fortunate to find a couple of resources to help me get started on my journey. (Best Presidential Biographies by Stephen Floyd and Read More Books by Jeremy Anderberg.)

I started in April of 2021 and decided to read at the pace of one per month in order to get through in a decent amount of time. Here we are in December of 2024 and I just finished with my last biography of George W. Bush. I averaged about one biography per month, but there were times when I read a couple. Some of the biographies were huge (over 1,000 pages) and some were short (around 200 pages). I did read multiple biographies for a few of the presidents along the way. I also stopped to read Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow because I had read so much about him in the first few biographies and it seemed to fit well (I am so glad I did because it is one of the best biographies I have read!)

Here are some tips and tricks that helped me along the way:

I told people what I was doing to keep me accountable. Most thought I was a little crazy and many did not seem to care much but I had a few friends and family members who would ask about my progress along the way and listen to my ramblings about what I was learning. Even though I did my project by myself, it helped to have people aware that I was doing it. I knew people would ask me how my progress was going. If you are thinking of tackling a project like this, consider reading with a friend or starting a small group to read and discuss together. Or just make it known what you are doing.

There does not have to be a set time frame to complete. I was determined to be done by the 2024 election but there is no rush to get it done. I tend to will myself to do things that I think others may not do and I might have had many breakdowns along the way. If I could do it again or give advice to someone who is considering tackling this project, I would tell them to find a rhythm that they can stick with. Some have told me they read one president per year.

There are some rough stretches. Let’s face the facts that not every president lived an extraordinary life and not every time period in our history had big events happening. There were biographies that I had to force myself to set small goals such as reading just 30 pages per day. There were some books that were beyond boring. And there were certain parts of some of the better books that were boring. The key is to stick with it and set small measurable goals. For me, sometimes it was a certain number of pages a day, a chapter a day, or sometimes even less. I also read other books that were more engaging during this time and just took it like medicine of 30 pages a day!

You will learn a lot about politics and history (obviously!) Reading through history from the lens of the president gives you a unique, front row seat to some of the major events and leaders who helped shape our country. The same characters will come up again and again. The same events will be covered multiple times from different points of view. You will see how politics has shifted over the course of our history and the people who were the catalysts for those changes. You will learn about lesser-known historical figures who played key roles in our history. This project gives a good understanding of some of the decision-making processes from key leaders at key times. You also get to see what drove many of these men to the highest office and learn about what made them who they were. I was surprised time and time again by these men.

Reward yourself along the way for all the hard work you are putting in. We took a trip to Washington D.C. last summer and it helped to keep me going and learning. I also visited several cities that some of the presidents lived in while I was reading about that President. We went to Dallas and stopped at Dealey Plaza as I was reading through the JFK biography. It made the story come to life in new ways and helped me to envision as I read. Also, try to have a funny ritual after each book. I would read around my kids, close the book at the end, and say “Well, that one died at the end, too!” It became a funny joke around our house. One person told me they bought a commemorative coin for each president they finished. Another person told me they visited as many presidential libraries as they were able to. We traveled quite a bit as a family during my reading and always tried to make an educational historical stop along the way. We are a homeschooling family and it was a much more engaging way for my kids to learn history. And my kids loved it! And they actually listened to me tell stories!

Buy the books to build your library! I took my time gathering the books. I spent hours researching which biography to buy and read for each president. I spent many an hour at book sales, used book stores, and online finding the biography that I wanted for each president and it became a game. I would not recommend audiobooks for presidential biographies. I tried listening to a biography on Lincoln on audio and was lost in all the names and quickly became overwhelmed. It was much better to read it slowly and be able to actually see the words. Just a tip, some of the biographies I wanted to read were too expensive ($100+ for some) or out of print and buying these was not an option. This forced me to “settle” for a potentially lesser biography. But it was still worth it in the long run.

Arthur Schlesinger and others have written a small (around 200 pages) biography of each president called the American Presidents Series. It may be surprising to learn that not every president has a good, accessible, affordable biography written about them. I did choose several of these American President Series options for lesser-known presidents, such as Benjamin Harrison or Rutherford Hayes. I was able to find most of them online for affordable prices and it was kind of nice to not have to slog through a thick biography of some of these characters.

The work is totally worth it in the end! In full disclosure, there were many times that I wanted to quit. I did read other books along the way on separate topics but for almost 4 years it was the presidents. This really helped to break up the slogging feeling. There were also times that I finished one and couldn’t wait to jump into the next one. Also, each biography and biographer are different so it takes a while to get used to a new voice after spending so much time with another. The amount of insight and history that you will learn is worth the effort whether it takes you 3 years or 30 years. You will be better for having done the work. I realize this is not for everyone but if you are a fan of history, consider reading a biography of every president or at least a biography of the most famous. It was worth it and you will forever having bragging rights for your accomplishment!

Just a little note when choosing biographies: The best are Ron Chernow, Robert Caro, Jean Edward Smith, Robert Dallek, and David McCullough. When in doubt, go with these biographers, you won’t regret it!

I am also working on a list of the biographies that I read for each president so be on the lookout for that coming soon. Subscribe to never miss a post and consider supporting my work through the paid membership, it can be like buying me a cup a coffee every month while we chat about books.