Presidents and Their Books

A richly illustrated look at the book collections of all 46 American presidents to date—and what we can learn from them about their owners.

With a few exceptions, American presidents have been readers. This book surveys an outstanding collection by Susan Jaffe Tane that encompasses books every US president owned and collected as a part of their personal libraries, as well as books they wrote. From a 1793 Memoir of a Map of Hindoostan that once belonged to George Washington, to Promise me, Dad, a 2017 memoir by Joe Biden, these books provide an intimate glimpse into the lives of our presidents and offer insight into their private personalities and, consequently, their political personae.