James Madison by Garry Wills

Posted on February 27, 2009 by Bob Timmermann

Invade Canada! President #4, C-SPAN historians rank #20 James Madison was definitely a president with an impressive resume. For starters, Madison wrote much of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He was a passionate defender of religious freedom. He served in the House of Representatives. He was Secretary of State for eight years under [...]

Filed under: Antebellum presidents | Tagged: , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Gerald Ford by Douglas Brinkley

Posted on February 25, 2009 by Bob Timmermann

President #38, C-SPAN ranking 22 Pardon me! Gerald Ford had a unique presidency. He was not elected to be vice president. He was not elected to be president. His vice president was not elected either. He was the first president to born with an entirely different first and last name than what he used while [...]

Filed under: Cold War presidents | Tagged: , , , , , | 9 Comments »

John Tyler by Gary May

Posted on February 24, 2009 by Bob Timmermann

Him too! 10th President. C-Span historians rank: 35 My chaotic journey through the history of the U.S. Presidency begins with a book about the first vice-president to succeed a president who passed away while in office. Gary May, a professor at the University of Delaware, penned this surprisingly sympathetic look at one of America’s lesser [...]

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A man, a plan, and a big long list of books

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Bob Timmermann

A man needs a goal in life.  Even better, a man needs a relatively easily achievable goal. And my goal is to read all the biographies of the U.S. Presidents in the American Presidents Series, published by Times Books. All the presidents from Washington to Bush the Second are supposed to get biographies (42 in [...]

Filed under: Uncategorized | 9 Comments »

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