What I’m Reading: Lately, Currently, and Next

Last Finished:

Isaac Asimov’s Robots in Time: Dictator, William F. Wu

CURRENTLY READING:

In the Hands of the Great Spirit: the 20,000-year History of American Indians, Jake Page

Next up:

The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand

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My reading rotation, with my current category in bold and my last completed from each category in blue:

1. Item suggested by and/or owned by my wife.
   (11/22/63, Stephen King)
2. Suggestion from my local library, or its latest annual community-wide One Read selection.
   (Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee, Casey Cep)
3. My personal choice, which may be from any of the other categories or something entirely different.
   (Will, Will Smith)
4. Popular now and/or new release
   (Becoming, Michelle Obama)
5.  Suggestion from a friend, family member, or book club.
   (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams)

• Wild Card–a title that was an impulse or recommendation and moved ahead of my next book already in the queue.
  (Isaac Asimov’s Robots in Time: Dictator, William F. Wu)
• I am also reading in between each category:
  • Something from US History, including memoir/biography (this category was previously ‘Biography of a US president’ until I finished at least one on each of the 46 presidencies)
    (Missouri: A History, Paul C. Nagel)
  • Next item from my book list, 52 Great Books to Read from the New York Public Library, Lynn Gordon, Chronicle Books, 1998. I have now read 26 of the 52.
    (Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll)

My collection as it was recently. I now own biographies of presidents 1-41, autobiography/memoirs written by 42, 43, and 44, and biographies of 45 and 46.

I believe 20-25 years between presidency and biography is the minimum history requires for a fair assessment, and I honestly believe it will be 100 years before anyone can offer an impartial cradle-to-grave biography of #45.

As I neared the end of my first run through the presidents, it finally struck me how white and male this agenda was, so I’m working on reading more books by and about women and people of other races. Among my collection, I now own 14 books by or about the first ladies.

September 11, 2016March 25, 2022 by Rainman Categories: My BookshelfTags: Biographies, Books, Bookshelf, Happening Now, Library, Presidents, What Im Reading Leave a comment

Goodreads Review: Washington’s Monument And the Fascinating History of the Obelisk — John Steele Gordon

Washington’s Monument: And the Fascinating History of the Obelisk by John Steele Gordon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Expecting a history of a specific obelisk, I found this short book packed with stories of several others as well, traced to their ancient Egyptian origins and followed through their relocations in Europe and America. Also included was an abundance of trivial facts in the footnotes (what did the death of John Quincy Adams have to do with the Washington Monument!?), which I must admit I absolutely loved. While the naval, mechanical, and architectural terms were sometimes out of my grasp, this was written plainly enough to understand what was happening and how it was happening. Gordon reveals the magnitude of the incredible feats accomplished in the making and erecting these monuments millennia ago, moving them in the nineteenth century, and the equally difficult challenge of getting assistance for Washington’s Monument from a burdened and weary Congress.

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January 15, 2018 by Rainman Categories: Wild CardTags: Architecture, Egypt, George Washinton, Monuments, Obelisks, Washington DC 1 Comment

Goodreads Review: American Indians/American Presidents — National Museum of the American Indian

American Indians/American Presidents: A History by National Museum of the American Indian

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Multiple authors contributed to this educational book published by the National Museum of the American Indian. I would recommend it to all non-native Americans, as it sheds light on a people long ignored by the public and perpetually mistreated by the United States in general. The presidents’ roles in the atrocious story have varied, with some intentionally abusing the rights of American Indians, others reflecting indifference or misguided attitudes, and few doing much to right past wrongs. By no means a hateful assessment, it certainly holds no punches. The authors cover all presidents except one (Buchanan is not even in the index!), up to the book’s 2009 publication. The only other thing I would like to have read is a conclusion that returned to what was mentioned in the introduction: The giant faces carved into a mountain in the heart of Indian territory in South Dakota, one of which belongs to Thomas Jefferson, suggested in the intro to be the “planner of cultural genocide”–an accusation not without merit.

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January 15, 2018 by Rainman Categories: My ChoiceTags: American History, Indians, Native Americans, US Presidents 1 Comment

Goodreads Review: The Help — Kathryn Stockett

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is hard, if you’ve seen the movie first, not to see the characters in your mind, as you read, as they were in the film. Especially Minny, but what a perfect fit for Octavia Spencer! I loved reading the darker details of this story that the movie glazes over, a history much more accurate, unfortunately. I never quite understood the naked man’s appearance, but I guess the irony is that the greatest threat to anyone’s health in this story came not from a black maid using a white lady’s toilet, but from a crazy white dude.

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January 6, 2018January 6, 2018 by Rainman Categories: Wife Suggestion 1 Comment

Goodreads Review: Gentleman Boss — Thomas C. Reeves (President #21 Chester Arthur)

Gentleman Boss: The Life of Chester Alan Arthur by Thomas C. Reeves

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Chester Arthur is one of those “neverheardofum” presidents, but not for his lack of an effort to be remembered. Long a New York political cog and boss, Arthur steered another direction when he came into the job he never wanted–President of the United States. Reeves painstakingly explores Arthur’s time in the New York City Customhouse, a patronage-hogging job which President Hayes removed him from less than two years before seeing him enter the White House. In the nation’s top post, Arthur pursued a grand agenda, internationally and domestically, but to little effect, leaving him largely an empty glass on the table of history. A biography packed with detail despite Arthur’s destruction of many of his papers, Gentleman Boss is a terrific ride from Lexington to Pennsylvania Avenues.

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January 6, 2018January 6, 2018 by Rainman Categories: Presidential BiographyTags: Chester Arthur, New York City, US Presidents, White House 1 Comment

Presidential Biographies

The Biographies I’ve Read of Each U.S. President

From three online “Best of” lists, and impulse pick-ups.

The Ones Ahead

1. Washington: A Life, Ron Chernow
   
2. John Adams, David McCullough
   
3. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, Jon Meacham
   
4. James Madison: A Biography, Ralph Louis Ketcham
   
5. James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity, Harry Amon
   
6. John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life, Paul C. Nagel
   
7. The Life of Andrew Jackson (abridged), Robert V. Remini
   
8. Martin Van Buren, The Romantic Age of American Politics, John Niven
   
9. Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time, Freeman Cleaves
   
10. John Tyler: Champion of the Old South, Oliver P. Chitwood
11. Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America, Walter Bornemann
12. Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest,  K. Jack Bauer
13. Millard Fillmore: Biography of a President, Robert J. Rayback
14. Franklin Pierce: Young Hickory of the Granite Hills, Roy F. Nichols
15. President James Buchanan: A Biography,  Philip S. Klein
16. A. Lincoln: A Biography, Ronald C. White, Jr.
17. Andrew Johnson: A Biography, Hans L. Trefousse
18. American Ulysses, Ronald C. White, Jr.
19. Rutherford B. Hayes and His America, Harry Barnard
20. Garfield: A Biography, Allan Peskin
21. Gentleman Boss: The Life and Times of Chester Alan Arthur, Thomas C. Reeves
22. Grover Cleveland: A Study in Courage, To the Loss of the Presidency, Allan Nevins
23. Benjamin Harrison, Charles Calhoun
24. Grover Cleveland, A Study in Courage, To the End of a Career, Allan Nevins
25. William McKinley and His America, H. Wayne Morgan
26. Mornings on Horseback, David McCullough [Theodore Roosevelt]
27. The Life and Times of William Howard Taft, Henry F. Pringle
28. Woodrow Wilson: A Biography, John Milton Cooper, Jr.
29. The Harding Era: Warren G. Harding and His Administration, Robert H. Murray
30. Calvin Coolidge: The Quiet President, Donald R. McCoy
31. Herbert Hoover: A Public Life, David Burner
32. FDR, Jean Edward Smith
33. Truman, David McCullough
34. Eisenhower in War and Peace, Jean Edward Smith
35. An Unfinished Life, Robert Dallek [John F. Kennedy]
36. Lone Star Rising: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, Robert Dallek
37. Richard Nixon: The Life, John A. Farrell
38. Gerald Ford, Douglas Brinkley

Biographies I plan to read later.

• 39. Jimmy Carter: A Comprehensive Biography, Peter Bourne
• 40. President Reagan, Lou Cannon
• 41. George H.W. Bush, Timothy Naftali
• 42. First in His Class, David Maraniss [Bill Clinton]
• 43. To be determined [George W. Bush]
• 44. To be determined [Barack Obama]
• 45. To be determined [Donald Trump]
•  7. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, John Meacham
• 18. Grant: A Biography, William S. McFeeley
• 18. Personal Memoirs, Ulysses S. Grant
• 32. No Ordinary Time, Doris Kearnes Goodwin [Franklin Roosevelt]
• 34. Eisenhower: Soldier and President, Stephen E. Ambrose
• 42. My Life, Bill Clinton

The Plus-Ones

Additional biographies I’ve read of presidents already covered.

• 16. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Doris Kearns Goodwin
• 26. Power and Responsibility: The Life and Times of Theordore Roosevelt, William Henry Harbaugh
• 33. The Autobiography of Harry S. Truman, Harry Truman and Robert H. Ferrell*
• 41. 41: A Portrait of My Father, George W. Bush

The Supplementals

Biographies I’ve read of other significant people in American history.

• Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, Walter Isaacson
• Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow
• Santa Anna of Mexico, Will Fowler
• Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth from White House Princess to Washington Power Broker, Stacy Cordery
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm X, Alex Haley

* The first presidential biography I ever read.

Special Thanks to Steve at BestPresidentialBios.com for his hard work and inspiration.

July 15, 2017May 31, 2020 by Rainman Categories: Presidential BiographyTags: American History, Biography, Book Lists, US Presidents Leave a comment

Friend Suggestion

The Books I’ve Read Since 2013 That Were Suggested by a Friend or Family Member

Solicted from Facebook, and in person.

1. Last Days of Summer, Steve Kluger
2. Ramona, Helen Hunt Jackson
3. Room with a View, E.M. Forster
   
4. Killing Kennedy, Bill O’Reilly
5. Dr. Zhivago, Boris Pasternak
   
6. Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK,                                       Gerald Posner
   
7. Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut

July 15, 2017 by Rainman Categories: Friend SuggestionTags: Book Lists Leave a comment

Wild Card

The Books I’ve Chosen to Read Since 2013 That Were Not Part of My List Rotation

Impulse purchases, library pickups, or plucked from my own shelves, read out of order from my designated category list.

1. Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
2. Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
3. The Boys in the Boat, Daniel J. Brown
4. Bettyville, George Hodgman
5. The Federalist, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay
6. Old Tippecanoe, Freeman Cleaves
7. The Princess Diarist, Carrie Fisher
8. Santa Anna of Mexico, Will Fowler
9. A. Lincoln, Ronald C. White, Jr.
10. The Turner House, Angela Flournoy
11. The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead
12. The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom, Slavomir Rawicz
13. Washington’s Monument: And the Fascinating History of the Obelisk, John Steele Gordon

July 15, 2017January 15, 2018 by Rainman Categories: Wild CardTags: Biography, Book Lists, Memoir Leave a comment

My Choice

The Books I’ve Read Since 2013 Just Because I Wanted To

Impulse purchases, library pickups, or plucked from my own shelves, read at the designated time on my list.

1. The Green Mile, Stephen King
2. Refuge Denied: The St. Louis Passengers and the Holocaust,                                       Sarah Ogilvie and Scott Miller
3. The Small Rain, Madeleine L’Engle
   
4. Zoo, James Patterson
5. The Autobiography of Harry S. Truman, Harry S. Truman (Robert H. Ferrell, ed.)
6. I Am Malala, Malala Yousafzai
7. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, Walter Isaacson
8. Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow
9. The Human Age, Diane Ackerman
10. American Indians/American Presidents, National Museum of the American Indian

July 15, 2017January 15, 2018 by Rainman Categories: My ChoiceTags: Biography, Book Lists, Memoir Leave a comment