The President's Pen: Reflections on Presidential Literature

Jeffrey Margolis' very enjoyable book reminds us that all American presidents have been the sum totals of many moving parts, one of the most important of them being a president's published works. Margolis surveys and summarizes all the books written by, or attributed to, sixteen of the most familiar names, from Thomas Jefferson to Donald Trump. A key benefit of this herculean task is to enable the reader to choose a favorite president and select one or more of their published writings to read. Wouldn't it be wonderful then if U. S. school boards were to recommend this highly readable book for use as a study guide to encourage students starved for fundamental American history to do just that?