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US presidents have had a substantial impact on the world that we live in. They've been placed at the helm of some of the most significant decisions humans have made in their history.
And yet, their personalities, philosophies, flaws, and the inner workings of their administrations remain generally unknown to the public during their service. These disproportionately powerful figures — later hailed as icons or denounced as villains — primarily exist as enigmas until their term ends.
Fortunately for history buffs or anyone after a behind-the-scenes look at some of the nation’s most consequential events, plenty of US presidents have left the White House and written personal accounts of their years in office. Though certainly not free from personal defenses or valid external critiques, they do provide a rare, close look into how the nation's greatest triumphs and mistakes came to be — and into the minds of those in charge when they did.
Below are the 18 autobiographies written by former US presidents covering their presidency:
Captions provided by Amazon and edited for length.
George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States
“Decision Points” by George W. Bush (2010) available on Amazon
George W. Bush served as president of the United States during eight of the most consequential years in American history. The decisions that reached his desk impacted people around the world and defined the times in which we live.
"Decision Points" brings readers inside the Texas governor's mansion on the night of the 2000 election, aboard Air Force One during the harrowing hours after the attacks of September 11, 2001, into the Situation Room moments before the start of the war in Iraq, and behind the scenes at the White House for many other historic presidential decisions.
Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
“My Life” by Bill Clinton (2004) available at Amazon
President Bill Clinton's "My Life" is the strikingly candid portrait of a global leader who decided early in life to devote his intellectual and political gifts, and his extraordinary capacity for hard work, to serving the public.
It shows us the progress of a remarkable American, who, through his own enormous energies and efforts, made the unlikely journey from Hope, Arkansas, to the White House one fueled by an impassioned interest in the political process which manifested itself at every stage of his life: in college, working as an intern for Senator William Fulbright; at Oxford, becoming part of the Vietnam War protest movement; at Yale Law School, campaigning on the grassroots level for Democratic candidates; and back in Arkansas, running for Congress, attorney general, and governor.
George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States
“A World Transformed” by George H. W. Bush (1998) and Brent Scowcroft available at Amazon
In "A World Transformed," Mr. Bush and his national security advisor, Brent Scowcroft, provide a fascinating account of a president and an administration faced with unprecedented obstacles and unrivaled opportunities as they forged a foreign policy at the end of the Cold War. Solidarity comes to power in Poland. East and West Germans dance on the wall that separated them for half a century. And on Christmas Day, 1991, the hammer-and-sickle flag descends from the Kremlin for the last time.
It is also a candid analysis of a new chapter in foreign affairs when the United States led an international alliance to confront the threat presented by Saddam Hussein and put forth a dynamic response to the Tiananmen crisis. Balanced and intelligent, "A World Transformed" offers a landmark treatise on American foreign policy and international diplomacy from two of its principal architects.
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