geeky
potus_geeks and other US history geeks on the bookshelves for 2015 so far. Some of these are late 2014 publications, while others are scheduled for release later this year. I hope you see something in here you like.1. Washington's Circle: The Creation of the President by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler (due out March 17, 2015, Random House, 560 pages)-This book looks at how Washington and his trusted advisers built the foundation for an enduring constitutional republic. It looks at the formation of the first government and the challenges faced by George Washington in the process.
2. 1944: FDR and the Year That Changed History by Jay Winik (due out September 8, 2105, Simon and Schuster, 512 pages)-a look at the year 1944, which determined the outcome of World War II and put tremendous pressure on an ailing President Roosevelt.
3. Madison's Gift: Five Partnerships That Built America by David O. Stewart (due out February 10, 2015, Simon and Schuster, 432 pages)-Historian, lawyer and novelist Stewart looks at James Madison's ability to forge working bonds with other founding members of the new American government, even if they did not always see eye to eye. The five relationships considered are with George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and Dolley Madison.
4. Reagan: The Life by H. W. Brands (due out May 12, 2015, Doubleday, 816 pages)-the acclaimed author of biographies of Andrew Jackson, Ulysses Grant and Woodrow Wilson follows up with this new account of the life of the president credited with the conservative transformation of American politics.
5. The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society by Julian E. Zelizer (released January 8, 2015, Penguin Press, 384 pages)-an account of the Great Society and the forces that shaped it, from Lyndon Johnson and members of Congress to the civil rights movement and the media.
6. George W. Bush: The American Presidents Series: The 43rd President, 2001-2009 (released February 3, 2015, Times Books, 208 pages) by James Mann-the latest in the American Presidents Series of concise biographies of the presidents, written by the author of six books on American politics and national security issues, including Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush’s War Cabinet and The Obamians: The Struggle Inside the White House to Redefine American Power.
7. The Professor and the President: Daniel Patrick Moynihan in the Nixon White House by Stephen Hess (released December 8, 2014, Brookings Institution Press, 150 pages)-The president is Richard Nixon, the professor is Harvard's Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Of all the odd couples in American public life, they are probably the oddest. Add another Ivy League professor to the White House staff when Nixon appoints Columbia's Arthur Burns, a conservative economist, as domestic policy adviser. The year is 1969, and what follows behind closed doors is a passionate debate of conflicting ideologies and personalities.
8. Presidents and Their Generals: A History of American Command in War by Matthew Moten (released November 5, 2014, Belknap Press, 456 pages)-a look at the relationship between US Presidents and their commanding generals from the Revolutionary War through Afghanistan and Iraq.
9. President Lincoln Assassinated by Harold Holzer (due out February 24, 2015, Library of America, 450 pages)-With the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's assassination taking place in April, Harold Holzer tells the story of Lincoln's murder, the manhunt for his killer, the trial of the assassination conspirators and of a nation in mourning.
10. 1932: The Rise of Hitler and FDR - Two Tales of Politics, Betrayal, and Unlikely Destiny by David Pietrusza (due out August 1, 2015, Lyons Press, 496 pages)-I'm looking forward to this one because Pietrusza is such a terrific author and historian. This book follows the rise of the leaders of two depression-battered nations in 1932, seeking to rescue their people from starvation and hopelessness. America would elect a Congress and a president—ebullient aristocrat Franklin Roosevelt vs. tarnished “Wonder Boy” Herbert Hoover. Decadent, divided Weimar Germany faced two rounds of bloody Reichstag elections and two presidential contests—doddering reactionary Paul von Hindenburg against rising radical hate-monger Adolf Hitler.
If there are ones I've missed, please let me know. There is a bushel of books about Lincoln due out to coincide with the 150th anniversary of his assassination. Some of those can be found here. 2015 isn't looking quite as prolific as 2014 was, but there are still many outstanding books on the horizon.