Presidential memoirs

James Buchanan is the first president to write his memoirs. “Mr. Buchanan’s Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion” was published in 1866 and sold poorly. This might have been due to the fact that he was apologetic about a Civil War that Americans did not want to relive. Early Presidents, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, did not feel the need to record their stories for posterity.

Presidents are not famed for their writing skills. “Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography” lacks the man’s vibrancy. Harry Truman’s two volumes are void of the toughness he exhibited in office. The great storyteller Lyndon Johnson could not replicate that talent in the written word.

Historians single out “The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant” as a notable literary exception among the usual bland books written by former Presidents. Ulysses S. Grant wrote his memoirs while dying of throat cancer, but he demonstrated talent for clear, succinct prose (which supports the rumor that his publisher, Mark Twain, actually served as ghost writer). He focused the narrative on his service as a General in the Civil War, relying heavily on papers, correspondence and official reports he had written during the war. He also utilized several researchers. Grant passed away prior to writing about his term in the White House.

Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Johnson chose to write specifically about their times in office. “The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge” is a standard account that follows him from childhood through political career. Presidents Hoover, Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton all used the same autobiographical format in their memoirs.