We even see hidden sides of the presidents that the public rarely noted outdoorsman Teddy Roosevelt’s great passion for literature or sunny Ronald Reagan’s piercing childhood memories of escorting home his alcoholic father.Įncompassing notable favorites like Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and John F. Roosevelt’s Infamy speech, but also the words of young politicians claiming their place in our history, including excerpts from Woodrow Wilson’s Congressional Government and Obama’s career-making convention speech, and the words of mature leaders reflecting on their legacies, including John Adams’s autobiography and Harry S.

In these pages, we see not only the words that shaped our nation, like Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and Franklin D.

Now, for the first time, the greatest presidential writings in history are united in one monumental the very best campaign orations, early autobiographies, presidential speeches, postpresidential reflections, and much more.

A sweeping and groundbreaking treasury of the most essential presidential writings, featuring a mix of the beloved and the little-known, from stirring speeches and shrewd remarks to behind-the-scenes drafts and unpublished autobiographies.įrom the early years of our nation’s history, when George Washington wrote his humble yet powerful Farewell Address, to our current age, when Barack Obama delivered his moving speech on the fiftieth anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery marches, America’s presidents have upheld a tradition of exceptional writing.

Author in Chief by Craig Fehrman