Happy Birthday, Mr. President! (Sort of...)

02_16_14 

Happy Birthday, Mr. President! (Sort of…)

by Stacey Anter

The Library Detective

Did you know that Presidents’ Day isn’t really on any President’s actual birthday? George Washington’s birthday is February 22nd; Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is February 12th, Ronald Reagan’s birthday is February 6th, and William Henry Harrison’s birthday is February 9th. It started off in 1800, a year after George Washington’s death, as an unofficial observance of his birthday, but it didn’t become a holiday until the late 1870’s. Celebrated on the third Monday in February, Washington’s Birthday, the official holiday, began to morph into Presidents’ Day in the late 1960’s when the Uniform Monday Holiday Act changed national holidays to a particular Monday of that month, according to History.com.

So, in order to get in the mood for Presidents’ Day, try reading Presidential biographies or even historical fiction novels featuring a Presidential character. As a matter of fact, the Coventry Library Book Discussion Group Selection for February is Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. If you haven’t picked up your copy, you should hurry; there are only a few copies left. The Book Discussion Group meets Monday, February 24th at 1pm.

If you want to read autobiographies, diaries, and personal letters, keep in mind that those written by George Washington and other early American Presidents may be considered “Library Use Only,” which means, they may not leave the library due to the age, rarity, and/or fragility of the material. But, it is still interesting to read the original writings of these historical figures. Here are just a few suggestions of Presidential Biographies and Autobiographies:

The Autobiography of George Washington, 1753-1799; The Diaries of George Washington; Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865, chronology, documents, bibliographical aids; Abraham Lincoln’s Autobiography: an account of its origin and history and additional biographical material by Robert Dale Richardson; Diary and Autobiography by John Adams; John Adams: A biography in his own words; Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy; An American Life by Ronald Reagan; The Autobiography of Harry S. Truman; Coolidge by Aminy Shlaes; Killing Lincoln and Killing Kennedy by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard; The Eisenhower Diaries by Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Here are some historical fiction titles featuring a U.S. President: Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith; The Lincoln Conspiracy by Timothy L. O’Brien; Days of Infamy by Newt Gingrich and William Forstchem.

If you don’t have the time to read, perhaps because you’re busy reading the book discussion group selection, there are a few movies and documentaries you can check out, instead. Here are a few to get you started: The Real George Washington; John Adams; Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter; Eleanor and Franklin, the early years; Lincoln; Killing Lincoln; and Killing Kennedy.

I call myself the Library Detective because I can find the answers to any question you can think of, or at least I can point you in the right direction.  To find out more about U.S, Presidents, or Presidents’ Day, visit your local library; there are more Library Detectives there, too.