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Old 07-28-2018, 03:52 PM
 
18,073 posts, read 18,750,721 times
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Duty, Robert Gates.
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Old 07-28-2018, 04:08 PM
 
3,592 posts, read 1,784,251 times
Reputation: 4725
An American Life: Ronald Reagan
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Old 07-28-2018, 04:30 PM
 
20,955 posts, read 8,629,930 times
Reputation: 14050
Ben Franklins' bios are quite famous - BUT, the problem with them is that the one he wrote is completely different than those that historians have written.

I guess that makes sense.....but, wow, what a difference! His makes him into a God, a historians view shows a guy who tried to get free money and land from the King for decades....and then switched to the revolution when he didn't get the award (it was a big part of Ohio)....and then got many of the best jobs and pensions (and contracts) from the new US gubment....

I guess auto-biographies are not the ones to read. We are all probably too full of ourselves.

Here are some of my recent reads:
Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency
A Little Revenge: Benjamin Franklin And His Son
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Old 07-28-2018, 04:41 PM
 
9,329 posts, read 4,125,410 times
Reputation: 8224
Robert Caro on LBJ
Doris Kearns Goodwin on FDR
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Old 07-28-2018, 05:11 PM
 
Location: alexandria, VA
16,352 posts, read 8,064,641 times
Reputation: 9726
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clarallel View Post
Robert Caro on LBJ
Doris Kearns Goodwin on FDR
I'm just now starting on this. Four long volumes so it'll take me a while. Should be a good read though. I enjoyed Caro's biography of infamous NYC public works czar Robert Moses.
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Old 07-28-2018, 05:40 PM
 
Location: Columbia, SC
37,066 posts, read 19,035,433 times
Reputation: 14806
I'm not big on detailed biographies, but I can think of one book you might enjoy. "The Politics of Piracy" is a detailed look at colonization in the New World, and the deals that were made between the politicians and the pirates to split the booty captured on the high seas. It's a killer read, and it's easy to see that thinks havent changed so much here in the last 350 years.

https://www.amazon.com/Politics-Pira.../dp/1611685273
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Old 07-28-2018, 09:14 PM
 
Location: Here and now.
11,904 posts, read 5,563,681 times
Reputation: 12963
Quote:
Originally Posted by PilgrimsProgress View Post
Did some research and The Life of Andrew Jackson by Robert Remini seemed to be the best book. He originally wrote three volumes for scholars but was convinced to condense it to one for the public. About 400 pages. So much more interesting than I expected, even the description of battles which I thought would bore me. Got it from the library. I would like to go to TN and the southeast to see some of the places that shaped early Americans.

I can see why he was and still is controversial. A complex man with definite ideals that often had dire consequences. Full of contradictions, good and bad. Easy to see how certain groups with an agenda could cherry pick events to suit their agenda but it's not that simple, folks. I know that everything is black and white for the Leftists -- literally -- Jackson had many shades of gray. People who want to rewrite history can't accept that it was a different time with different culture and beliefs.

This is the edition I'm reading. It's falling apart. Why would a library buy a paperback?
https://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Jackso...andrew+jackson
It may have been donated by a patron, or it may have been a promo sent by the publisher. Or it may be that paperback was all their budget would allow. Books are expensive.
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Old 07-28-2018, 09:25 PM
 
Location: The Republic of Texas
78,866 posts, read 46,504,056 times
Reputation: 18520
Quote:
Originally Posted by PilgrimsProgress View Post
They don't have to be American presidents or political figures. British or European monarchs and politicians are fine. I just want something so detailed that it makes me feel like I knew the subject.

Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser had amazing research but packed an emotional wallop at the end. I was in floods of tears and depressed for days!

The only other book that deeply affected me was Testament of Youth, an autobiography (up until her marriage) of British pacifist author Vera Brittain about the personal toll of WWI on her life. PBS made a highly acclaimed series based on it which I watched over and over.

I am currently interested in bios of Andrew Jackson and Ronald Reagan. Which would be universally acclaimed as the best?



Sacred Fire. - George Washington
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Old 07-28-2018, 09:34 PM
 
Location: Houston
26,979 posts, read 15,849,164 times
Reputation: 11259
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clarallel View Post
Robert Caro on LBJ
Doris Kearns Goodwin on FDR
Goodman’s book on Lincoln’s Cabinet is excellent.

Anything by McCullough particularly the Adams bio
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Old 07-28-2018, 10:10 PM
 
5,462 posts, read 3,020,941 times
Reputation: 3271
Quote:
Originally Posted by PilgrimsProgress View Post
They don't have to be American presidents or political figures. British or European monarchs and politicians are fine. I just want something so detailed that it makes me feel like I knew the subject.

Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser had amazing research but packed an emotional wallop at the end. I was in floods of tears and depressed for days!

The only other book that deeply affected me was Testament of Youth, an autobiography (up until her marriage) of British pacifist author Vera Brittain about the personal toll of WWI on her life. PBS made a highly acclaimed series based on it which I watched over and over.

I am currently interested in bios of Andrew Jackson and Ronald Reagan. Which would be universally acclaimed as the best?
Art of LOL...
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