Abraham Lincoln to Herbert Hoover

The 42 presidents of the United States seem to have had very little in common. Some were surprisingly strong willed, while others were simply miscast. They have been as young as John F. Kennedy (43) and as old as Ronald Reagan (69), intellectuals like Madison and Monroe and plain thinkers like the great Jackson and the failed Harding. Personality types have run the gamut, from the ebullient spirits of the two Roosevelts and Truman to the taciturn Coolidge and dour Nixon. They have come from states across the country, from Vermont to California. Likewise, the education of the presidents of the United States has varied--some like Jackson and Andrew Johnson never attended school. William Henry Harrison chose medical school; Woodrow Wilson held an earned doctoral degree, Grant and Eisenhower graduated from West Point; Carter from Annapolis. Truman completed high school and read every history book in his public library. Harding and Hayes graduated first in their college class. There is an essay on the education of each president. More than 10 primary documents accompany each essay.