Note to Readers – Every now and then, I will re-post a blog entry that has withstood the test of time. Whether you missed it the first time ‘round or read it years ago, I feel it’s worth sharing again. I chose Presidents – Real & Imagined from October 18, 2015 because we’re about to experience an historical shake-up in the White House and it can be comforting to remember how our country and its leaders rose above the fears and challenges of previous eras. Then imagine how our time will be recorded in literature when we are part of the historical tapestry.

The Presidential election is still a year away but one can’t escape the entertainment known as campaign season. Have you tried imagining any of the candidates as President yet? Why not measure your expectations against some former Presidents? Here are a dozen books – both non-fiction and fiction – in which real former Presidents play a featured role:

Non-Fiction
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power – John Meacham
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln – Doris Kearns Goodwin
Grant and Twain: The Story of a Friendship that Changed America – Mark Perry
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt – Edmund Morris
Eleanor and Franklin – Joseph P. Lash
Truman – David McCullough
A Thousand Days – Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

Fiction
Lincoln – Gore Vidal
The Alienist – Caleb Carr
The Plot Against America – Philip Roth
Primary Colors – Anonymous (Joe Klein)
The President’s Shadow – Brad Meltzer
Curious to know which books were the favorites of each of our Presidents? Check out The Favorite Books of All 44 Presidents of the United States.