And there was light : Abraham Lincoln and the American struggle
by Jon Meacham

The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer examines life and moral evolution of Abraham Lincoln and how he navigated the crises of slavery, secession and war by both marshaling the power of the presidency while recognizing its limitations.

Author in chief : the untold story of our presidents and the books they wrote
by Craig Fehrman

A journalist historian shares lesser-known insights into the public and private writing lives of America's Presidents, from Lincoln's secret speech anthology for the 1860 election to Teddy Roosevelt's accounts of his life-risking safaris. 

Becoming FDR : the personal crisis that made a president
by Jonathan Darman

This biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt focuses on how his struggles with polio helped forged the strength and wisdom that helped him guide America and the world through the twin crises of the Great Depression and World War II. 

Dinner with the president : food, politics, and a history of breaking bread at the White House
by Alex Prud'homme

The coauthor of Julia Child's best-selling memoir My Life in France looks at the history of presidential tastes in food and how it can have significant impact on politics, history and global trade.

The first populist : the defiant life of Andrew Jackson
by David S. Brown

A revelatory, timely, and masterful biography of President Andrew Jackson that offers a new perspective on this charismatic figure in the context of American populism--identifying the reasons for his unprecedented appeal as it shows us the man and politician in his full complexity. A self-defined champion of "farmers, mechanics, and laborers," Jackson railed against the established ruling order, fostering a brand of democracy that struck a chord with the common man and helped catapult him into the presidency. The first populist offers a new way to interpret Jackson's legacy, connecting "Old Hickory" to a longer history of division, dissent, and partisanship that has come to define our current times.

Grace & steel : Dorothy, Barbara, Laura, and the women of the Bush dynasty
by J. Randy Taraborrelli

The best-selling author of Jackie, Ethel, Joan documents the lesser-known stories of the women of the presidential Bush dynasty, sharing insights into how they fought for marriage equality and raised their children to defend American values. 

A house built by slaves : African American visitors to the Lincoln White House
by Jonathan W. White

Jonathan White illuminates why Lincoln's then-unprecedented welcome of African Americans to the White House transformed the trajectory of race relations in the United States. Drawing from an array of primary sources, White reveals how the Great Emancipator used the White House as the stage to empower Black voices in our country's most divisive era.

Incomparable grace : JFK in the presidency
by Mark K. Updegrove

Looks at the brief but transformative presidency of John F. Kennedy, and how he grew in the role after a tumultuous beginning to calmly manage a series of both domestic and international crises. 

Lady Bird Johnson : hiding in plain sight
by Julia Sweig

A magisterial portrait of Lady Bird Johnson, and a major reevaluation of the profound yet underappreciated impact the First Lady's political instincts had on LBJ's presidency.

A man of iron : the turbulent life and improbable presidency of Grover Cleveland
by Troy Senik

Based on in-depth research and newly uncovered details, this biography examines Grover Cleveland's dizzying journey from obscure lawyer to president of the United States in just three years and his leadership during a transformational era in U.S. history. 

The outlier  : The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter
by Kai Bird

Four decades after Ronald Reagan's landslide win in 1980, Jimmy Carter's one-term presidency is often labeled a failure; indeed, many Americans view Carter as the only ex-president to have used the White House as a stepping-stone to greater achievements. But in retrospect the Carter political odyssey is a rich and human story, marked by both formidable accomplishments and painful political adversity. In this deeply researched, brilliantly written account, Kai Bird expertly unfolds the Carter saga as a tragic tipping point in American history. As president, Carter was not merely an outsider, but an outlier. Drawing on interviews with Carter and members of his administration and recently declassified documents, Bird delivers a profound, clear-eyed evaluation of a leader whose legacy has been deeply misunderstood. The Outlier is the definitive account of an enigmatic presidency-both as it really happened and as it is remembered in the American consciousness.

The president's kitchen cabinet : the story of the African Americans who have fed our first families, from the Washingtons to the Obamas
by Adrian Miller

Award winning author Adrian Miller vividly tells the stories of the African Americans who worked in the presidential food service as chefs, personal cooks, butlers, stewards, and servers for every First Family since George and Martha Washington. Miller brings together the names and words of more than 150 black men and women who played remarkable roles in unforgettable events in the nation's history.

The trials of Harry S. Truman : the extraordinary presidency of an ordinary man, 1945-1953
by Jeffrey Frank

Drawing on archival discoveries and meticulous research, the best-selling author of Ike and Dick turns his attention to Harry S. Truman, revealing a portrait of an ordinary man suddenly forced to shoulder extraordinary responsibilities as he led America through the pivotal years of the mid-20th century. 

The White House Plumbers : the seven weeks that led to Watergate and doomed Nixon's presidency
by Egil Krogh

An American lawyer who became infamous as an official of the Nixon Administration and who was imprisoned for his part in the Watergate Affair tells what really happened behind the closed doors of the Nixon White House, and how a good man can make bad decisions. 

You never forget your first : a biography of George Washington
by Alexis Coe

A whimsically irreverent portrait of America’s first President includes coverage of Washington’s entitled upbringing by a single mother, his dog “Sweetlips,” his numerous military defeats and the partisan nightmares that spun from his back-stabbing cabinet.