Tag Archives: biography

FDR

Posted on October 23, 2026 by smellincoffee

When I began working on this project in earnest a year ago, I knew then that FDR was going to be…interesting. I’ve mentioned before that I was a World War 2 nut in high school: this translated, via the impressionability … Continue reading →

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William McKinley

Posted on October 22, 2026 by smellincoffee

After three days of trying to make progress in Robert Merry’s William McKinley, trying in vain to see the subject through a multiple of well-tailored fat man smoking cigars and blocking my way to their chosen man to guide America … Continue reading →

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The Outlier

Posted on October 1, 2026 by smellincoffee

When I read the American Presidents treatment of Jimmy Carter,  I knew right away I wanted more. Not because his presidency was hugely impactful, but he struck me as such an odd personality I wanted to ponder him more.  I … Continue reading →

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Grandpa Harrison, President for a Month

Posted on September 22, 2026 by smellincoffee

Before I began this reading project, there was a short file in my head of presidents who governed too short a season, or who were too undistinguished, to merit thinking about. I did not know that Chester Arthur had anything … Continue reading →

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The Hoover Experience

Posted on September 21, 2026 by smellincoffee

When I opened this book, I had some faint appreciation of Herbert Hoover as an accomplished engineer and disaster-relief organizer, a man who intervened after Black Thursday far more than is generally known, and who is unfairly blamed for the … Continue reading →

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Keep Cool with Coolidge!

Posted on September 18, 2026 by smellincoffee

Calvin Coolidge has long been one of my favorite presidents; I think as a child I was drawn to his nickname of Silent Cal, with its reputation for taciturnity; later on, I respected his approach to government — keep the … Continue reading →

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Benjamin “I’m More than the Guy Between Cleveland Terms” Harrison

Posted on September 17, 2026 by smellincoffee

What do I know about Benjamin Harrison? Well, he was a core part of the Cleveland Hero Sandwich, the thin bit of meat between two enormous Cleveland halves. And his granddaddy was president for a month before dying and giving … Continue reading →

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Jimmy

Posted on September 16, 2026 by smellincoffee

What do I know about Jimmy Carter? Carter is, interestingly, the first president who ever appeared on Reading Freely. I read his Peace Not Apartheid and Our Endangered Values in the very early months of the blog, possibly following up … Continue reading →

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TRUMAN

Posted on September 15, 2026 by smellincoffee

A new reader to this blog might ask, “SC, after cheerfully dismissing president after president with 200-page biographies from the American Presidents series, why did you decide to read a twelve hundred page treatment of Harry S. Truman?”  There are … Continue reading →

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William Howard “Chief Magistrate” Taft

Posted on September 14, 2026 by smellincoffee

Early on in the American republic, the office of president was referred to as the chief magistrate; William Howard Taft must have taken that on as a challenge, because after serving as President, he later became the Chief Justice of … Continue reading →

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