Lincoln labored in secret to get his book ready for the 1860 election, tracking down newspaper transcripts, editing them carefully for fairness, and hunting for a printer who would meet his specifications. Yet few can name the work that helped him win the presidency: his published collection of speeches entitled Political Debates between Hon. Most Americans are familiar with Abraham Lincoln's famous words in the Gettysburg Address and the Eman-cipation Proclamation. I loved it.' -Rick Perlstein Based on a decade of research and reporting, Author in Chief tells the story of America's presidents as authors-and offers a delightful new window into the public and private lives of our highest leaders.

Both history buffs and politics enthusiasts will relish this.'One of the best books on the American presidency to appear in recent years.' -Thomas Mallon, The Wall Street Journal 'Fun and fascinating.It's witty, charming, and fantastically learned. Illustrations grace the text, and extensive bibliographic notes brim with intriguing facts. Ronald Reagan read books about film, and Barack Obama, whose Dreams of My Father(1995) was central to his election triumphs, reads widely across genres.

As Fehrman sees it, what presidents read matters even more than what they wrote. John Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage (1956) became required reading for students even if its authorship was challenged. Calvin Coolidge published a book that genuinely excited 1920s voters.

Occasionally delving into quirkier matters, such as John Adams’ assurances that he bore no illegitimate offspring, most of these books reflect the deeply held political interests of their writers. These presidential books fall into two categories: a memoir to rationalize one’s actions in office, or a campaign broadside to introduce its self-promoting subject to the electorate or set a campaign objective. Here, Fehrman records such literary efforts back to Jefferson and Adams. From the very beginnings of America’s experiment in republican government, its chief executives, both actual and aspiring, have put pen to paper (nowadays fingers to keyboard) in attempts to justify themselves and inspire others.

Author in chief by craig fehrman