US Presidents

From Hollywood to the White House, Architect of the Conservative Revolution — A TLDR Biography (1911–2004)

Self-Taught Prairie Lawyer Who Held a Nation Together — A TLDR Biography (1809–1865)

Orphaned Frontier Lawyer, War Hero, Founder of the Democratic Party — A TLDR Biography (1767–1845)

Self-Taught Tailor Who Clashed with Congress Over Reconstruction — A TLDR Biography (1808–1875)

From Multicultural Childhood to Healthcare Reform and a Transformed America — A TLDR Biography (1961–)

Civil War General, Gilded Age Legislator, Won the White House Without the Popular Vote — A TLDR Biography (1833–1901)

Boom Years, Impeachment, and a Decade of Prosperity from Small-Town Arkansas — A TLDR Biography (1946–)

Vermont Lawyer Who Made Quiet Restraint a Presidential Philosophy — A TLDR Biography (1872–1933)

The Accidental President Who Overhauled the Federal Civil Service — A TLDR Biography (1829–1886)

Real Estate Mogul, Reality TV Star, and the Movement He Built — A TLDR Biography (1946–)

From Kansas to Normandy to the White House, Steering America Through the Early Cold War — A TLDR Biography (1890–1969)

Depression, War, and the Reshaping of American Government — A TLDR Biography (1882–1945)

New Hampshire Charmer Whose Single Term Pushed a Nation Toward Civil War — A TLDR Biography (1804–1869)

One Term, the Gulf War, and a Quiet Legacy — A TLDR Biography (1924–2018)

Two Wars, the War on Terror, and a Financial Crisis — A TLDR Biography (2001–2009)

General, Reluctant Ruler, and Template for the Presidency — A TLDR Biography (1732–1799)

How the Accidental President Steadied a Nation After Watergate — A TLDR Biography (1913–2006)

Reform, Stubbornness, and Steering Through Economic Crisis — A TLDR Biography (1837–1908)

From Missouri Farm to the Oval Office, Ending WWII and Starting the Cold War — A TLDR Biography (1884–1972)

Self-Made Engineer, Wartime Humanitarian, Landslide Winner — A TLDR Biography (1874–1964)

From Log Cabin and Civil War Glory to the White House — A TLDR Biography (1831–1881)

Seasoned Diplomat, Paralyzed President, Road to Civil War — A TLDR Biography (1791–1868)

One Term, a War with Mexico, and a Nation Stretched to the Pacific — A TLDR Biography (1795–1849)

Co-Founder of a Party, Wartime Leader Through 1812 — A TLDR Biography (1751–1836)

Last Founding Father, Era of Good Feelings, Doubled the Map — A TLDR Biography (1758–1831)

From Georgia Peanut Farmer to Four Decades of Global Peacemaking — A TLDR Biography (1924–2024)

A Stuttering Kid from Scranton and a Half-Century in Washington — A TLDR Biography (1942–)

The Prickly Massachusetts Lawyer Who Helped Invent Independence — A TLDR Biography (1735–1826)

From Boston Privilege to Dallas — America's Youngest Elected President — A TLDR Biography (1917–1963)

The Brilliant New Englander Who Served Longer Than Almost Anyone — A TLDR Biography (1767–1848)

The First Vice President to Inherit the Office, Disowned by His Own — A TLDR Biography (1790–1862)

Civil Rights Triumphs, Anti-Poverty Ambition, and a Presidency Consumed by Vietnam — A TLDR Biography (1908–1973)

Party-Builder, Jackson's Kingmaker, and President During the Panic of 1837 — A TLDR Biography (1782–1862)

Accidental President of a Fracturing Union, Self-Taught Lawyer, Nativist Candidate — A TLDR Biography (1800–1874)

Cold Warrior, China Opener, and the Watergate Disgrace — A TLDR Biography (1913–1994)

The Ohio General Who Ended Reconstruction and Settled America's Most Contested Race — A TLDR Biography (1822–1893)

From Sickly New York Kid to Cowboy, Bull Moose, and Architect of the Modern Presidency — A TLDR Biography (1858–1919)

Virginia Planter Who Doubled a Nation and Embodied Its Deepest Contradiction (1743–1826)

Battlefield Commander, Defender of Black Citizenship, and Author of a Great American Memoir (1822–1885)

Ohio Newspaperman Who Won the Era's Largest Landslide and Died Before the Scandals Broke (1865–1923)

Frontier Soldier, Log-Cabin Campaigner, Shortest-Serving Commander in Chief (1773–1841)

The Only American to Lead Both the White House and the Supreme Court (1857–1930)

Architect of the Tariff, Victor Over Spain, and Martyr at the Dawn of the American Century (1843–1901)

Scholar-Statesman Who Reshaped American Government and Led the Nation Through World War I (1856–1924)

Career Soldier Who Took Office Without Ever Voting and Died Amid the Slavery Crisis (1784–1850)