Robert H. Ferrell (1921–2018)

This is the first biography I read of President Coolidge. It is very dry and academic in style, but I didn't mind.
I now believe that if any twentieth-century American president could be called a good man, it must have been Calvin Coolidge. He had possibly the most outwardly uninteresting and unappealing personality of any president, but who cares? because I believe he was more committed to leaving the American people alone, to not intruding in their everyday lives, than any president outside the Founding Fathers' generation. He was also probably the president most committed to fiscal discipline: every year of his one term saw the budget balanced; taxes were repeatedly cut, and Coolidge once made a speech about reducing pencil expenditures!
About his laconic and unsociable personality, there is a plausible theory in another bio I plan to read. Calvin Coolidge's younger son, Calvin Jr., died in 1924--the same year Coolidge was elected for his own term after replacing the deceased president Harding. Robert E. Gilbert believes that because of Calvin Jr.'s death, Calvin Sr. suffered from clinical depression throughout his term, which would explain his quiet, passive and often socially inept behavior.
I also plan to read Coolidge's autobiography, which he wrote not long after leaving office.… (more)

This is an excellent biography of an almost forgotten first lady. Grace Coolidge was one of the most popular ladies in the United States during her husband's presidency. Everything she did was copied and discussed. However, today, she is hidden behind the more well-known occupiers of the office of First Lady of the United States.

Grace Coolidge was a perfect foil for her notoriously "Silent" husband. She was energetic and outgoing. She made a real effort to be likeable and relatable in the press. Children loved her and wanted to meet her. However, much of her personality was stifled by her husband. When he died, Grace Coolidge came into her own and lived life on her terms.

Mrs. Coolidge's early life is very elusive. Hardly anything, apart from stories told and retold time and again, survives. Documentation of her life didn't really begin until her husband held public office. This book is a worthy installment in the Modern First Ladies edition of biographies, and Grace Coolidge's life is certainly well-worth reading. What a charming lady!… (more)

I vaguely remember George W. Bush, when asked how he thought history would judge his Presidency, saying time will tell, and made reference to Truman's transition from a low regarded President immediately after his term ended to being considered a great President after time has passed. I'd heard that before, and know of Truman's unpopular decisions to send troops into Korea, to relieve General Douglas MacArthur as commander during the Korean War, to use the Atomic Bomb at the end of World War II, etc., and was curious to learn more.

In that regard, I found Robert Ferrell's book, "Harry S. Truman: A Life" to be informative and interesting. Ferrell detailed much of Truman's pre-political life, his background on the farm, as a clothing store owner, a judge, and his entry into Politics. And while that background was informative, and provided a good understanding into what drove Truman and how he became the person he was, I felt there was an overemphasis on that portion of his life over his years in the White House. Nonetheless, the major decision points of his Presidency are well covered, and I enjoyed learning more about Truman, as a man and as President.
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