{"product_id":"author-in-chief-the-untold-story-of-our-presidents-and-the-books-they-wrote-9781476786391","title":"Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"One of the best books on the American presidency to appear in recent years.\" --Thomas Mallon, \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Fun and fascinating...It's witty, charming, and fantastically learned. I loved it.\" --Rick Perlstein\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eBased on a decade of research and reporting, \u003ci\u003eAuthor in Chief \u003c\/i\u003etells the story of America's presidents as authors--and offers a delightful new window into the public and private lives of our highest leaders. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMost Americans are familiar with Abraham Lincoln's famous words in the Gettysburg Address and the Eman-cipation Proclamation. Yet few can name the work that helped him win the presidency: his published collection of speeches entitled \u003ci\u003ePolitical Debates between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas\u003c\/i\u003e. Lincoln labored in secret to get his book ready for the 1860 election, tracking down newspaper transcripts, editing them carefully for fairness, and hunting for a printer who would meet his specifications. \u003ci\u003ePolitical Debates \u003c\/i\u003esold fifty thousand copies--the rough equivalent of half a million books in today's market--and it reveals something about Lincoln's presidential ambitions. But it also reveals something about his heart and mind. When voters asked about his beliefs, Lincoln liked to point them to his book. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn Craig Fehrman's groundbreaking work of history, \u003ci\u003eAuthor in Chief\u003c\/i\u003e, the story of America's presidents and their books opens a rich new window into presidential biography. From volumes lost to history--Calvin Coolidge's \u003ci\u003eAutobiography\u003c\/i\u003e, which was one of the most widely discussed titles of 1929--to ones we know and love--Barack Obama's \u003ci\u003eDreams from My Father\u003c\/i\u003e, which was very nearly never published--Fehrman unearths countless insights about the presidents through their literary works. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePresidential books have made an enormous impact on American history, catapulting their authors to the national stage and even turning key elections. Beginning with Thomas Jefferson's \u003ci\u003eNotes on the State of Virginia\u003c\/i\u003e, the first presidential book to influence a campaign, and John Adams's \u003ci\u003eAutobiography\u003c\/i\u003e, the first score-settling presiden-tial memoir, \u003ci\u003eAuthor in Chief \u003c\/i\u003edraws on newly uncovered information--including never-before-published letters from Andrew Jackson, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan--to cast fresh light on the private drives and self-doubts that fueled our nation's leaders. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWe see Teddy Roosevelt as a vulnerable first-time author, struggling to write the book that would become a classic of American history. We see Reagan painstakingly revising \u003ci\u003eWhere's the Rest of Me?\u003c\/i\u003e, a forgotten memoir in which he sharpened his sunny political image. We see Donald Trump negotiating the deal for \u003ci\u003eThe Art of the Deal\u003c\/i\u003e, the volume that made him synonymous with business savvy. Alongside each of these authors, we also glimpse the everyday Americans who read them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCombining the narrative felicity of a journalist with the rigorous scholarship of a historian, Fehrman delivers a feast for history lovers, book lovers, and everybody curious about a behind-the-scenes look at our presidents.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Avid Reader Press \/ Simon \u0026amp; Schuster\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/11\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781476786391\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 448\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.10w x 1.40d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/15\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2019 pg. 95\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/02\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/15\/2019 pg. 87\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Craig Fehrman","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36652496584860,"sku":"9781476786391","price":25.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_5c81f694-4dbc-4734-9db8-df70045e51aa.jpg?v=1603879899","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/author-in-chief-the-untold-story-of-our-presidents-and-the-books-they-wrote-9781476786391","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}