Presidential books have made an enormous impact on American history, catapulting their authors to the national stage and even turning key elections.

From volumes lost to history-Calvin Coolidge’s Autobiography, which was one of the most widely discussed titles of 1929-to ones we know and love-Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father, which was very nearly never published-Fehrman unearths countless insights about the presidents through their literary works.

In Craig Fehrman’s groundbreaking work of history, Author in Chief, the story of America’s presidents and their books opens a rich new window into presidential biography. When voters asked about his beliefs, Lincoln liked to point them to his book. But it also reveals something about his heart and mind. Political Debates sold fifty thousand copies-the rough equivalent of half a million books in today’s market-and it reveals something about Lincoln’s presidential ambitions. Lincoln labored in secret to get his book ready for the 1860 election, tracking down newspaper transcripts, editing them carefully for fairness, and hunting for a printer who would meet his specifications. Yet few can name the work that helped him win the presidency: his published collection of speeches entitled Political Debates between Hon. Most Americans are familiar with Abraham Lincoln’s famous words in the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation. Based on a decade of research and reporting, Author in Chief tells the story of America’s presidents as authors-and offers a delightful new window into the public and private lives of our highest leaders.

Author in Chief by Craig Fehrman