President Books Archives - Timothy D. Holder

“Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates” (2015)

Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade is a great book! It’s a fascinating slice of history, and a wonderful study of leadership. What it is NOT is a detailed book about Thomas Jefferson. Kilmeade tells the story of pirates operating in the Mediterranean Sea who plagued European and American shipping for years, […]

Polk: The Man who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter R. Borneman (2009)

The title makes Polk sound like a pretty important president, and he kind of was. There was more info on the Mexican War than I thought there would be. The author paints an unflattering picture of James Buchanan, who was Polk’s Secretary of State and the future 15th president. Polk was an effective leader, but

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