United States Presidents

Of the presidents who died of natural causes during their term in office, arguably the most preventable was that of William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States. Despite holding the record for the shortest presidential term of merely a month, William Henry Harrison could never be deemed a failure, though he certainly saw his fair share of them.

Born just six years after the founding of the United States, Martin Van Buren seemed destined for politics. Known throughout his career as “Little Van” for his short stature, his impact on America was certainly not minimal. From the age of 14, the democratic Van Buren began a political career as an apprentice. He would later go on to fulfill several positions including senator for New York state, a brief stint as governor, Andrew Jackson’s secretary of state, and eventually president.

Based on remarkable new research, acclaimed historian Alexander Rose brings to life the true story of the spy ring that helped America win the Revolutionary War. For the first time, Rose takes us beyond the battlefront and deep into the shadowy underworld of double agents and triple crosses, covert operations and code breaking, and unmasks the courageous, flawed men who inhabited this wilderness of mirrors—including the spymaster at the heart of it all.

A New York Times bestseller! From New York Times bestselling author Jared Cohen comes an encouraging and engaging debut children’s book that brings United States history to life through forty-five compelling presidential quotes, demonstrating the power of words and inspiring hope for the...

After a dramatic election amid a raging pandemic, racial violence, economic collapse, and historic national divisions that have threatened our democracy, Joe Biden succeeds Donald Trump as the 46th president of the United States. For Catholics, this is a momentous occasion in US public life, as he is the second Catholic to be elected to the nation’s highest office, joining John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Biographers, journalists, and satirists have long used the subject of sex to define the masculine character and political authority of America's Founding Fathers. Tracing these commentaries on the Revolutionary Era's major political figures in Sex and the Founding Fathers, Thomas Foster shows how continual attempts to reveal the true character of these men instead exposes much more about Americans and American culture than about the Founders themselves.

Don't miss the #1 New York Times bestselling thriller from the world's bestselling author, James Patterson: an "undeniably gripping ride through the hidden passageways of power and politics" that "moves like Air Force One" (Michael Connelly). The President Is Missing confronts a threat so huge...

Filled with drama and anecdote, presenting familiar characters in a penetrating new light, The Roosevelts is a soaring tale of triumph over heartbreak and frailty. But it is also a daunting story of the vanity of human wishes.

Packed with fun facts and presidential trivia, The President Is Dead! tells you everything you could possibly want to know about how our presidents, from George Washington to George H. W. Bush (who was the most recent president to die), met their ends, the circumstances of their deaths, the pomp of their funerals, and their public afterlives, including stories of attempted grave robbings, reinterments, vandalism, conspiracy theories surrounding their deaths, and much more.

In the spring of 1789, within weeks of the establishment of the new federal government based on the US Constitution, the Senate and House of Representatives fell into dispute regarding how to address the president. Congress, the press, and individuals debated more than 30 titles, many of which had royal associations and some of which were clearly monarchical. For Fear of an Elective King is Kathleen Bartoloni-Tuazon's rich account of the title controversy and its meanings.

John Quincy Adams: The Often Ignored Sixth President of the United States tracks the life and times of John Quincy Adams from boyhood until his death. John Quincy was the first case of the son of a president of the United States taking office after the father. In many ways, the two President Adams were similar in temperament and in performance. Neither understood politics; neither had the common touch. Both of them were scholars, and in another era might have made a career of teaching or research.

Offering a profound and comprehensive exploration of the life and legacy of this legendary military strategist, this eye-opening biography seeks to dispel the mystery around the first president of the United States, championing the daring achievements and the triumphs against the odds that helped him lead the American Revolutionaries to victory against the British Empire.

Volume Four opens as the British abandoned Boston in March 1776. They moved their troops to Long Island and their fleet to New York Harbor. Washington, anticipating such a strategy, came out to face the Redcoats in Brooklyn, but was driven back to the city. More British troops arrived, forcing Washington to withdraw north. As the winter of 1777 approached with Redcoats occupying Philadelphia, Washington restricted the British army's supply line. But almost nobody believed the British could be defeated and few believed Washington's army could survive.

A fresh look at President William McKinley from New York Times bestselling author and political mastermind Karl Rove—“a rousing tale told by a master storyteller whose love of politics, campaigning, and combat shines through on every page” (Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize–winning...

On January 12, 2021, the majority staff of the House Judiciary Committee released the first public staff report detailing the events of January 6, 2021, when insurrectionists broke into the US Capitol. The event occurred as the House and the Senate met in a Joint Session of Congress, with the Vice President presiding, to count the Electoral College’s votes for President. In response, the House of Representatives called for the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.

Edited and introduced by MSNBC’s Ali Velshi, The Trump Indictments collects the complete charging documents brought by the Department of Justice and the Fulton County (GA) and Manhattan (NY) district attorneys—a riveting and shocking narrative of the former president’s alleged crimes and...

Who owns the most powerful man in the world? Her code name is Kingfisher. Her mission: to seduce and marry a man of wealth and political influence. Now she must protect a terrifying secret. October 2016: In America, the election is a few weeks away. Journalist Grace Elliott has just landed a...

John Adams, one of the Founding Fathers of our nation and its second president, spent nearly the last third of his life in retirement, grappling with contradictory views of his place in history and fearing his reputation would not fare well in the generations after his death. And indeed, future generations did slight him, elevating Jefferson and Madison to lofty heights while Adams remained way back in the second tier.

The compelling, groundbreaking investigation of how the choices of twelve US presidents, from Truman to Trump, have fueled turbulence and turmoil in the Middle East. And the one president who chose a better way. Kicking the Hornet’s Nest is a riveting exploration of how twelve US presidents...

John Quincy Adams: A Biography of the 6th United States President inspects the life of the sixth president of the United States. This short yet complete biography by author Steven Wallace studies John Quincy Adams' 80 years of life from his birth in 1767 to his death in 1848. This biography includes many of John Quincy Adams' ideas and accomplishments. John Quincy Adams has long captured the imagination and interest of the American people with both his personal and political history, and this biography showcases the most interesting facts of his life.