Perfect Books to Read for President’s Day This Year

There’s nothing like a great read to get you in the right frame of mind to mark an upcoming holiday. Previously, we’ve shared recommended reads for Veterans’s Day, MLK Jr. Day, and Valentine’s Day. Now we turn our attention to another pressing issue: what are the best books to read for President’s Day weekend? These are our top picks of the best books – both novels and non-fiction – about American politics, Presidents, and political campaigns. And no, they’re definitely NOT only about men.

president’s day weekend is an ideal time for a great book

Presidents Day is just around the corner, and we all love having an extra mid-winter Monday to be off-duty. In addition to catching up on sleep, spending time with friends and family, and maybe a quick escape out of town, there is no better time to settle in with a great book.

And what could be better than a fictional or non-fiction book about an American President, or a political candidacy, or an elected official or public servant? Those topics and personalities are fertile ground for dramatic, riveting reads.

Like, come on: what could be better fodder for a great weekend read than the machinations and mores of politics and politicians? And if you’re not going to read one of these over President’s Day weekend in an election year, when will you?

Now of course, many people would argue that there are hundreds of great novels that illustrate the elements of politics, elections, American Presidents and their impact on the world. Dystopian novels are almost always embraced by one side or the other as perfect illustrations of a political point (we’re looking at you, Handmaid’s Tale). As George Orwell wrote: “No book is genuinely free from political bias. The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude.”

Point taken. Having said that, thought, our list of recommended reads for President’s Day weekend is narrower in scope. We’ve limited it to excellent books that directly concern themselves with elections, political candidacies, famous public servants and yes – American Presidents.

perfect books to read for President’s Day

If you’re in, here are 12 ideas to get you started. We think these are all perfect reads for President’s Day. Some will remind you of the heartbreak of falling in love with a brilliant politician only to realize that they have clay feet. Others share piercing insights into how hard it is to be a female leader – especially in the political realm, And a small few will remind you that every now and then, a hero or heroine rises, seemingly out of the blue. Giving renewed hope to us all.

1. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

You’ve seen the Broadway show – now read the book. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow was the inspiration for the smash-hit Broadway musical “Hamilton.” The Pulitzer Prize winning author was the first writer in decades to bring the life of the Founding Father who galvanized, inspired, scandalized, and shaped the early days of America to the fore.

2. Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon

The book jacket of  Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon portrays Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg with a crown on her head. And that pretty much summarizes the spirit of this enjoyable and inspirational biography. It documents both Justice Ginsberg’s eventful life and her powerful ideology. If you already love RBG, you will love her even more after delving deeper into her story.

3. You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe

Just in time for President’s Day comes a fresh perspective on the traditional (reverential) biographies of the nation’s first elected leader.  In You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe,  we learn about the women in the Founding Father’s life. Like his hardworking single mother, and the wife who whipped him into shape. And we wrestle with the father of liberty’s decisions about owning slaves. And his choice about what would become of these enslaved men and woman upon his death. It’s a nuanced portrait of a complicated man, and well worth reading.

4. All the King’s Men’ by Robert Penn Warren

An iconic work of political fiction and winner of the 1947 Pulitzer Prize, All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren is a lightly-fictionalized account of the life  and career of the real-life Southern politician Huey ‘Kingfish’ Long of Louisiana. In the book, the character Willie Stark is a back-country lawyer whose idealism is overcome by his lust for power.

5. Primary Colors by Anonymous

Another famous roman à clef about an ambitious politician, Primary Colors by Anonymous (later revealed to be journalist Joe Klein) closely tracks the known facts about former President Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign in 1992. At its heart, it’s a tale of lost innocence and idealism. When a former congressional aide becomes part of the staff of the governor of a small Southern state, he watches in horror, admiration, and amazement as the governor mixes calculation and sincerity in his quest for the Presidency.

6. Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin. A ripped-from-the-headlines plot quite similar to the Monica Lewinsky-Bill Clinton affair, this novel tackles “slut-shaming” both obliquely and head-on.

Twenty-something Aviva (her names means “innocence” in Hebrew) has an affair with a married Congressman – he stays in office, and she becomes a modern-day Hester Prynne. Fast-forward, and we meet her in her mid-40’s, now with a daughter and a budding political career of her own, in a state far away under a new name. You know what’s coming. The tone is breezy but the messaging is dead serious. You’ll think twice before name-calling anyone again.

7. Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win by Jo Piazza

The bestselling author of The Knock Off, How to Be Married, and Fitness Junkie returned with Charlotte Walsh Likes To Win.  It’s a ripped-from-the-headlines novel about a woman running for the Senate during the midterm elections in 2018.

Charlotte Walsh leaves behind her high-powered job in Silicon Valley and returns, with her husband and their three young daughters, to her downtrodden Pennsylvania hometown to run for office for the first time. Not surprisingly, it’s far more difficult than she anticipated. This is the perfect companion read to Young Jane Young – two explorations of women, politicians, how power can erode our values, and the unavoidable price that has to be paid to live a life in and around politics.

8. Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin

In Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime, journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin share the results from hundreds of interviews, and provide an irresistible page-turner about the true story of the 2008 Presidential campaign. Relive the completely improbably and historic triumph of Barack Obama. And the shocking fall of the House of Clinton. The heroic performance of John McCain and the emergence of Sarah Palin as a new type of political neophyte. It reads like a novel, and it’s impossible to put down.

9. Franklin & Washington by Edward J. Larson

Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership by Edward J. Larson. This is the history of a decades-long relationship between two vastly different men. Benjamin Franklin was an abolitionist freethinker from the urban north. George Washington was a slave-hold­ing general from the agrarian south. This is a striking and detailed examination of their alliance, their compromises, and their lasting impact on America

10. The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer is a novel about the relationship between a young idealist woman and her new boss, a feminist icon she has idolized for years. After graduating from college, Greer goes to work for her hero Faith, only to discover that politics and life are both more complicated than she had understood. The plot is a mediation on the way our political beliefs pervade our personal lives. And the way small moments can make an enormous impact on the course of a life.

11. The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro

Robert Caro’s masterful 4-volume biography of former President Lyndon Baines Johnson has  been described as “one of the richest, most intensive and most revealing examinations ever undertaken of an American president.” Across the four books – The Path to Power; Means of Ascent; Master of the Senate; and The Passage of Power – we cover almost a century of American history, seen through the lens of one incredible and eventful life. It’s a stunning achievement.

12. Presidents of War by Michael Bechloss

Arguably the preeminent Presidential historian of our time, Michael Bechloss is the author of nine books, His most recent is Presidents of War: The Epic Story, from 1807 to Modern Times. It’s a disquieting history of how Presidents since the early nineteenth century have waged war. And how much power they can amass as War Presidents. From the War of 1812 to Vietnam, he documents the series of decisions that result in sending American troops into combat. How they often struggled with Congress, the courts, the press, and antiwar protesters. And the personal dramas that the public never saw. The ultimate power of the Presidency gets the deep historical assessment that can help shed light on our future.

what to read for president’s day this year

Those are our picks for the perfect books to read on President’s Day weekend this year. Whether fiction or non-fiction, we hope one of these books about politics and American politicians may speak to you. What’s on your list?

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