The Post-American World

What Presidents read give an insight to their manner of thought and influences on their lives.

A picture has been floating around the Internet with the inference that Obama is planning on the destruction of the nation as we know it because of a book he was reading The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria.

Now, whether or not Obama is planning on destroying or altering beyond recognition the US, I have no idea. However, I decided that I wanted to read the book. If a book is powerful enough to be of potential influence on a President, and I want to be a responsible individual – which I view as a special burden and responsibility of a social studies teacher – then I need to be aware first-hand of the material.

Actually, the book was very interesting, and I found that I could agree with the logic and foresight found in his basic theme. Sites listing professional reviews of the book are at the end of this blog entry.

While I admit that I’ve not been in the habit of ‘Presidential reading’ before, it was because I didn’t know what they read. Now the Internet has opened the door for investigating what Presidents read, allowing us a glimpse into their world and mind. Apparently Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Harry Truman were the most recognized and prolific ‘readers’ of the twentieth century Presidents.

While a preliminary search doesn’t reveal all of the presidential favorites, I’d like to share a few discoveries that cover the last 50 years, from JFK to Obama as far as books of interest and influence on the President's life and/or administration:

A list of John F. Kennedy’s favorites were released by the JFK Library. He gave a copy of Barbara Tuchman’s Guns of August to his Secretary of the Army, commenting that he wanted every officer in the army to read it. It’s interesting to see his interest in history. He also enjoyed Ian Fleming’s books about superspy James Bond.

Lyndon Johnson’s favorite books included Barbara Ward’s The Rich Nations and the Poor Nations which perhaps explains in part his Great Society dream.

Richard Nixon liked Tolstoy’s War and Peace (as did Jimmy Carter and others), Whittaker Chamber’s Witness, and La Follette’s Autobiography

Gerald Ford grew up liking books by Horatio Alger. Alger’s stories of success inspired Ford to do his best in academics and sports while growing up.

An article in Time Magazine in 1976 when Carter was a candidate for President indicated that he enjoyed biographies. In an interview Carter stated that his favorite book was Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee, about living in Alabama during the Great Depression.

Nation magazine published a 1984 indicating that Reagan’s favorite reading was The Third World War, August 1985; and George Gilder’s Wealth and Poverty

George H.W. Bush has been influenced by Martin Gilbert's book The Second World War; Tolstoy’s War and Peace; J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye; and Laura Z. Hobson’s Gentleman's Agreement.

In 2003 Bill Clinton released the names of his ‘favorite 21’ books, coinciding with the opening of the Clinton library, books including Living History by Hillary Clinton. Many of Clinton’s books are related to civil rights, and many were left/liberal in orientation.

US News reported that George W. Bush’s reading was heavy in biographies and baseball. Bush has a running contest with his advisor Karl Rove to see who can read the most books, and after three years (2005 – 2008)Rove was ahead 250 – 186. During the three-year period, many of Bush’s books spanned the political spectrum, conservative to liberal.

One awareness that I arrived at through all of this was that our Presidents read. They read as children, as adults, on the campaign trail, and in office.

Hum. I wonder what other world leaders are reading? Or Vice President Joe Biden???

Some good news: Our local libraries have many of these books on the shelves. Check them out!

Essential question: Should Social Studies teachers be interested and/or imitative in Presidential reading - and why?

Professional Book Reviews of The Post-American World

Fareed Zakaria (author's homepage)
Newsweek Review
New York Times Review
Islam Online
Washington Post