Lincoln: The Biography of a WriterBy Fred KaplanHarper, 416 pages, $27.95
Tried By War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander In ChiefBy James M. McPhersonPenguin, 384 pages, $35
Looking for Lincoln: The Making of an American IconBy Philip B. Kunhardt III, Peter W. Read More
For a people whom Tocqueville described as living eternally in the future, we Americans do quite a lot of remembering. Eight weeks ago, it was Martin Luther King Jr., who has been gone longer than he was Read More
During the heady days of the Kennedy administration, there was a brief White House vogue for the journals of the Duc de Saint-Simon, the 18th-century courtier whose gemlike observations captured small, highly entertaining moments at Versailles that otherwise would have been lost to Read More
I felt that I knew Arthur long before I actually met him, because of his books. Grad school was a bit of a wasteland, and I searched in vain for history books that would truly illuminate the past, with vivid writing, sharp observations and that rarest of all academic elements: humor. I found all three Read More
One score and nine years ago, Doris Kearns Goodwin launched her career as a Presidential historian with Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream, a shrewd look at the oversized Texan she’d observed closely during his Presidency and post-Presidency. In the years that followed, she built a stellar reputation as a writer and TV commentator on Read More
One score and nine years ago, Doris Kearns Goodwin launched her career as a Presidential historian with Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream, a shrewd look at the oversized Texan she’d observed closely during his Presidency and post-Presidency. In the years that followed, she built a stellar reputation as a writer and TV commentator on Read More
High above the intersection of Park Avenue and 26th Street, exactly where no one will notice it, a small metal sign silently proclaims the crossroads to be “Herman Melville Square.” So the city pays heed—barely—to the greatest writer ever to live and write here. Of course, no one would ever call Melville obscure. Moby-Dick has Read More
High above the intersection of Park Avenue and 26th Street, exactly where no one will notice it, a small metal sign silently proclaims the crossroads to be “Herman Melville Square.” So the city pays heed—barely—to the greatest writer ever to live and write here.
Of course, no one would ever call Melville obscure. Moby-Dick Read MoreThe Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House, by John F. Harris. Random House, 504 pages, $29.95.
Presidents move in the polls long after they leave office, and armchair historians can hold endless conversations about who belongs with the great, the near great and the mass of lesser mortals. Harry Truman departed the White House with Read MoreA Great Improvisation: Franklin, France and the Birth of America, by Stacy Schiff. Henry Holt, $30, 490 pages.
When George Bush launched his recent European charm offensive, he began his biggest speech with an attempt at levity. "I follow in some large footsteps," he reminded the solons of Brussels, describing the extraordinary impact of Benjamin Franklin's Read MoreHis Excellency: George Washington, by Joseph J. Ellis. Alfred A. Knopf, 352 pages, $26.95.
For someone who specialized in graceful, perfectly choreographed exits, George Washington has a way of returning over and over again. Children may know less and less about the distant past (a recent survey found many believe Gandalf to be the victor Read MoreRise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush's War Cabinet , by James Mann. Viking, 426 pages, $25.95.
Kafka's Amerika begins with the Statue of Liberty holding a giant sword instead of a light to the world. How fitting that James Mann's profile of the Bush foreign-policy team begins with a nearly identical image. Read MoreThe Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush . by David Frum. Random House, 384 pages, $25.95.
A year ago, in one of the first mini-scandals of the Bush administration, a speechwriter was publicly defenestrated for having the audacity to claim that he had written a phrase for the 43rd President. It didn't Read MoreScotty: James B. Reston and the Rise and Fall of American Journalism , by John F. Stacks. Little, Brown, 384 pages, $29.95.
There was a time, not too long ago, when no one would have dared to write a book about Scotty Reston-and then, once it was written, everyone would have run out and bought it. Read MoreBenjamin Franklin , by Edmund S. Morgan. Yale University Press, 339 pages, $24.95.
Have the Founding Fathers ever had so much attention? In the mid- to late 90's, you could hardly open a newspaper without reading a lurid story about Thomas Jefferson, the Great Miscegenator.Acouple years ago, Alexander Hamilton enjoyed a brief vogue. Then, in 2001, Read More