Research Guides: United States Presidents: The United States Presidents

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Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States

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Centennial Library: Books on the U.S. Presidents

Are you looking for information on
the United States Presidents?

The resources on this page contain materials available through the Centennial Library, and web resources as well.

The Presidents by Henry F. Graff (Editor)
Call #: 973.0992 P934
ISBN: 0684312263
Publication Date: 2002-08-16
Includes the second term of the Clinton administration as well as the first year of George W. Bush's first term.
The Presidents by Michael R. Beschloss
Call #: (available through OhioLINK and SearchOhio)
ISBN: 0743475003
Publication Date: 2003-05-20
"This book offers fresh and penetrating portraits of all the presidencies, as rendered by some of America's most distinguished scholars, including a look at the first part of the George W. Bush administration."
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
Call #: 973.41 W32C5
ISBN: 1594202664
Publication Date: 2010-10-05
"Biographer Ron Chernow provides a richly nuanced portrait of the father of our nation...in this unique biography, Ron Chernow takes us on a page-turning journey through all the formative events of America's founding. With a dramatic sweep worthy of its giant subject, Washington is a magisterial work from one of our most elegant storytellers."
Thomas Jefferson by Joyce Appleby; Arthur M. Schlesinger (Editor)
Call #: 973.46 J45A
ISBN: 0805069240
Publication Date: 2003-02-01
"In this compelling examination, distinguished historian Joyce Appleby captures all of the richness of Jefferson's character and accomplishments."
Andrew Jackson by H. W. Brands
Call #: 973.56 J12B12
ISBN: 0385507380
Publication Date: 2005-10-04
"...Brands shapes a historical narrative of Andrew Jackson that's as fast-paced as the best fiction."
A. Lincoln by Ronald C. White
Call #: 973.709 L73W5
ISBN: 1400064996
Publication Date: 2009-01-13
"Through meticulous research of the newly completed Lincoln Legal Papers, as well as of recently discovered letters and photographs, White provides a portrait of Lincoln's personal, political, and moral evolution."
Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life by Kathleen Dalton
Call #: 973.911 R781D2
ISBN: 067944663X
Publication Date: 2002-10-08
"Kathleen Dalton's Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life incorporates the latest scholarship into a vigorous narrative. It stands as the only full-length biography to use manuscripts recently discovered in Roosevelt attics...'Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life' will change persuasively the way we see this great and complex man and his times."
Franklin Delano Roosevelt by Alan Brinkley
Call #: 973.917 R781B82
ISBN: 0199732027
Publication Date: 2009-12-30
"'No president since the founders has done more to shape the character of American government,' notes Alan Brinkley in this magnificent biography of America's thirty-second president."
An Unfinished Life by Robert Dallek
Call #: 973.922 K36D
ISBN: 0316172383
Publication Date: 2003-05-13
"Never shying away from (President) Kennedy's weaknesses, Dallek also brilliantly explores his strengths. The result is a portrait of a bold, brave, human Kennedy, once again a hero."
Reagan: The Life by H. W. Brands
Call #: 973.927 R28B6
ISBN: 0385536399
Publication Date: 2015-05-12
In his magisterial new biography, H. W. Brands brilliantly establishes Ronald Reagan as one of the two great presidents of the twentieth century, a true peer to Franklin Roosevelt. Reagan is a storytelling triumph, an irresistible portrait of an underestimated politician whose pragmatic leadership and steadfast vision transformed the nation.
Decision Points by George W. Bush
Call #: 973.931 B977D
ISBN: 0307590615
Publication Date: 2010-11-09
"In this candid and gripping account, President George W. Bush describes the critical decisions that shaped his presidency and personal life."
The Bridge by David Remnick
Call #: 973.932 O12R
ISBN: 1400043603
Publication Date: 2010-04-06
"The Bridge revisits the American drama of race, from slavery to civil rights, and makes clear how Obama's quest is not just his own but is emblematic of a nation where destiny is defined by individuals keen to imagine a future that is different from the reality of their current lives."
The Making of Donald Trump by David Cay Johnston
Call #: 333.33 T871J
ISBN: 1612196322
Publication Date: 2016-08-02
Buckeye Presidents: Ohioans in the White House by Philip Weeks
Call #: 973.099 B922
ISBN: 0873387279
Publication Date: 2003-01-01
"This is an examination of the important role of Ohio in U.S. presidential history. In the six decades following the end of the Civil War, seven of the nation's twelve leaders were Ohioans, and during their presidencies the country was transformed from a rural, agrarian, diplomatically isolated society into a wealthy and powerful commercial nation."
Unsung Heroes: Ohioans in the White House by James B. Cash
Call #: 973.099 C338U
ISBN: 1882203224
Publication Date: 1998-01-01
"After their elections, the presidents from Ohio never again fared so well in the polls. Who were they and why are these stalwart heart-of-the-country fellows, five of them forged in the violent crucible of the Civil War, so easily forgotten? Unsung Heroes is a contemporary examination of their lives, their presidencies, and the more than half century in America when they helped prepare the definition for a powerful emerging industrial nation."

Web Resources

John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States

American Presidents: Life Portraits - video tours, gravesite information, and much more, as provided by C-SPAN television. Click on the drop-down box at the top of the screen to select the president you would like more information on.

The American Presidency Project - established in 1999 as a collaboration between John Woolley and Gerhard Peters at the University of California, Santa Barbara. These archives contain 88,496 documents related to the study of the Presidency.

Historical Documents Online - provided by the National Archives, you can find various types of documents from several 20th century presidents, including Herbert Hoover, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan.

Library of Congress Resource Guides - the presidential resource guides compile digital materials that are available throughout the Library’s Web site.

POTUS - Presidents of the United States - a general reference site provided by the Internet Public Library.

The Presidents | The White House - information on every United States President, as provided by the White House official Web site.

Presidential Speech Archive - "The Scripps Library, through cooperation with various presidential libraries, has been collecting some of the most important presidential speeches in American history. These speeches all have transcripts, and some are available in their entirety in audio or video."

(above image :By White House Press Office (WHPO) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

History | Databases

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States.

(above image from Alexander Gardner [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

Academic Search Complete
Index, abstracts, and full text for many scholarly publications covering all academic areas of study.
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Academic Search Complete, designed specifically for academic institutions, is the world's most comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for Amore than 9,300 journals and a total of 10,900 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. This scholarly collection offers full text coverage of information in many areas of academic study including: archaeology, area studies, astronomy, biology, chemistry, civil engineering, electrical engineering, ethnic & multicultural studies, food science & technology, general science, geography, geology, law, mathematics, mechanical engineering, music, physics, psychology, religion & theology, women's studies, and other fields.

America: History and Life
Articles on the history and culture of the United States & Canada. Coverage from prehistory to the present.
America: History and Life is a comprehensive bibliography of articles on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. AHL offers abstracts and citations for articles appearing in over 2,000 journals published worldwide in history, related humanities, and the social sciences. Coverage also includes citations to book reviews from approximately 100 major journals of American history and culture and relevant dissertations from Dissertation Abstracts International.

Subject keywords: History. Interdisciplinary Studies. Popular Culture. Multicultural Studies. American Studies. Women's Studies/Gender Studies. Anthropology. Literature/Folklore. Sociology. Genealogy. History of Science, Economics, Business, Education, Music, Art, and Law.

Biography Reference Bank
Biographical information on approximately half a million people, from antiquity to the present.
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Biography Reference Bank provides biographical information on approximately half a million people, from antiquity to the present, along with thousands of images. BRB offers substantive narrative profiles, each about 2,000 words long, from H.W. Wilson publications and other respected publishers. The biographies are searchable by name, profession, title, place of origin, gender, race/ethnicity, titles of works, date of birth, date of death, keyword, and presence of images. Daily updates provide up-to-the-minute coverage of newsmakers. Full-text articles, abstracts, and images gleaned from thousands of magazines and journals cover new names and expand on existing profiles. Book review excerpts and full text reviews help users find and select print biographies.

United States Presidents: The United States Presidents