Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Five great books about obscure presidents

At the Christian Science Monitor, Randy Dotinga named five great books about obscure presidents.

One title on the list:
The Harding Affair: Love and Espionage during the Great War by James David Robenalt (2009)

He's best remembered today for the Teapot Dome scandal and his White House canoodling with a woman who was not his wife.

But Warren Harding's philandering had begun years before his brief stint as president. In fact, the man who looked like a senator straight from central casting had a long and tumultuous affair with a friend of this wife (who was both formidable and scandal-plagued herself.)

The mistress turned out to have troublesome sympathies toward Germany. And that was the least of it.

The president's love letters remain, and they reveal the inner life of a man of stunning – and misdirected – passion. If only he'd devoted that same energy to effectively running the country.
Read about another book on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue