In the month of February we have Abraham Lincoln’s birthday (February 12) and George Washington’s birthday (February 22), and Presidents’ Day. Presidents’ Day was initially a celebration of George Washington’s birthday, but over time it has evolved to celebrate both presidents: Lincoln and Washington. However, not everyone celebrates this day in honor of both (or even all) presidents; some only honor George Washington, others may honor all the presidents that have come from their respective states, and others may honor all U.S. presidents. No matter how you look at it, thinking of one president often sparks interest in others.
The United States has had 44 presidents: starting with George Washington and ending with our current president Barack Obama. Did you know that there was a president who only served for one month? Or, that one president is credited with inventing the swivel chair? We’ve had presidents with names like Millard and one with a middle name of Gamaliel. From the forefathers to our present day leaders, books on the United States presidents can be fascinating reads.
For more general information on U.S. presidents such as election results, cabinet members, notable events, and interesting facts, check out this website: http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/
Looking for more about the leaders of the United States? Check out these titles:
American Crisis: George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years After Yorktown, 1781-1783 by William M. Fowler
First Family: Abigail and John by Joseph J. Ellis
Flight From Monticello: Thomas Jefferson at War by Michael Cranish
James Madison by Richard Brookhiser
The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness by Harlow G. Unger
Mr. Adams’s Last Crusade: John Quincy Adams’s Extraordinary Post-Presidential Life in Congress by Joseph Wheelan
A Being So Gentle: the Frontier Love Story of Rachel and Andrew Jackson by Patricia Brady
A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent by Robert W. Merry
The Remarkable Millard Fillmore: the Unbelievable Life of a Forgotten President by George Pendle
Franklin Pierce by Michael F. Holt
Abraham Lincoln and Horace Greeley by Gregory A. Borchard
U.S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth by Joan Waugh
A Secret Life: The Lies and Scandals of President Grover Cleveland by Charles Lachman
The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century by Scott Miller
Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
Woodrow Wilson: A Biography by John Milton Cooper
Calvin Coolidge by David Greenberg
Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage by Hazel Rowley
1948: Harry Truman’s Improbable Victory and the Year that Transformed America’s Role in the World by David Pietrusza
Brothers, Rivals, Victors: Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, and the Partnership that Drove the Allied Conquest in Europe by Jonathan W. Jordan
Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero by Christopher Matthews
1960: LBJ vs JFK vs Nixon: the Epic Campaign that Forged Three Presidencies by David Pietrusza
Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter: the Georgia Years, 1924-1974 by E. Stanly Godbold
My Father at 100 by Ron Reagan
Decision Points by George W. Bush
Picture from http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington
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