Son of Timatollah

Here's the start of the long-promised bibliography for my presidential biography reading. All links to Amazon. Full disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate and will receive a meager subsidy if you purchase any of the books by following the links below.

No.	Start	End	President	Born	Died	Biography
1	30 APR 1789	4 MAR 1797	George Washington	22 FEB 1732	14 DEC 1799	Flexner, John Thomas, Washington: The Indispensable Man, Back Bay Books, 1994
2	4 MAR 1797	4 MAR 1801	John Adams	30 OCT 1735	4 JUL 1826	McCullough, David, John Adams, Simon and Shuster, 2001
3	4 MAR 1801	4 MAR 1809	Thomas Jefferson	14 APR 1743	4 JUL 1826	Ellis, Joseph J., American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, Vintage, 1998
4	4 MAR 1809	4 MAR 1817	James Madison	16 MAR 1751	28 JUN 1836	Ketcham, Ralph, James Madison: A Biography, University of Virginia Press, 1990
5	4 MAR 1817	4 MAR 1825	James Monroe	28 APR 1758	4 JUL 1831	Ammon, Harry, James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity (Signature Series), American Political Biography Press, 1998
6	4 MAR 1825	4 MAR 1829	John Quincy Adams	11 JUL 1767	23 FEB 1848	Nagel, Paul, John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life, Harvard University Press, 1999
7	4 MAR 1829	4 MAR 1837	Andrew Jackson	15 MAR 1767	8 JUN 1845	Brands, H. W., Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times, Anchor, 2006
8	4 MAR 1837	4 MAR 1841	Martin Van Buren	4 DEC 1782	24 JUL 1862	Niven, John, Martin Van Buren : The Romantic Age of American Politics (Signature Series), American Political Biography Press, 2000
9	4 MAR 1841	4 APR 1841	William Henry Harrison	9 FEB 1773	4 APR 1841	Cleaves, Freeman, Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time, American Politcal Biography Press, 1990
10	4 APR 1841	4 MAR 1845	John Tyler	29 MAR 1790	18 JAN 1862	Chitwood, Oliver P., John Tyler: Champion of the Old South, American Politcal Biography Press, 1990
11	4 MAR 1845	4 MAR 1849	James K. Polk	2 NOV 1795	15 JUN 1849	Borneman, Walter R., Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America, Random House, 2008.
12	4 MAR 1849	9 JUL 1850	Zachary Taylor	24 NOV 1784	9 JUL 1850	Bauer, K. Jack, Zachary Taylor : Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest, Louisiana State University Press, 1993
13	9 JUL 1850	4 MAR 1853	Millard Fillmore	7 JAN 1800	8 MAR 1874	Rayback, Robert J., Millard Fillmore: Biography of a President, American Political Biography Press, 1992
14	4 MAR 1853	4 MAR 1857	Franklin Pierce	23 NOV 1804	8 OCT 1869	Wallner, Peter A., Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire's Favorite Son, Plaidswede Publishing, 2004 Wallner, Peter A., Franklin Pierce: Martyr for the Union, Plaidswede Publishing, 2007
15	4 MAR 1857	4 MAR 1861	James Buchanan	23 APR 1791	1 JUN 1868	Klein, Philip S., President James Buchanan: A Biography, American Political Biography Press, 1995

More to come as I take time to update. I'm currently rereading the first volume of Edmund Morris's three-volume set on Theodore Roosevelt.

Labels: adams, bio, biographies, biogrpahy, buchanan, fillmore, j. q. adams, jackson, jefferson, madison, monroe, pierce, polk, president, presidential, taylor, tyler, van buren, washington, william henry harrison

When everyone was expecting Lincoln, Obama gave us Washington. at Valley Forge, quoting Thomas Payne.

My favorite segment from the speech:

But those values upon which our success depends — honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

Good luck, Mr. President.

Labels: inauguration, obama, payne, washington

Hi, all. Just got back tonight from a couple of nights in and around the District of Columbia, our nation's seat of government. Was up there representing NOGLSTP on the Engineers Week Diversity Council at a meeting with Obama's staffer for education (Senate, not presidential campaign).

The randomness:

• First time I was in one of the legislative office buildings. Got a good look at the Capitol, but didn't arrange time for a tour. Looking forward to going back.
  
• Backgrounding on matters of assessment in engineering education. How do we ensure that we turn out quality engineers from our degree programs? There's a sense that traditional methods need scruitiny, and the ABET accreditation processes we all go through is designed to make sure that the engineers we graduate are succeeding in the workplace, but what can we do different to assess in a very short term that students are learning what we want them to without starting over from scratch? Or am I over-estimating the downside to starting over from scratch?
  
• Still working on Alaska pics. Three or so more days to go: Barrow, Anchorage, and last day.
  
• Trying to figure out how to get more involved in the Vote No on Amendment 2 activities. The number of straight people who don't get it—that our (gay people's) lives are just as full of love, are just as valid, as theirs; that discrimination is not in their best interest; that one day they're negatively impacting their own children or grandchildren—is frustrating. May be going to "speaker training" this weekend. (SEND MONEY TO THESE PEOPLE, PLEASE!)
  
• The Washington trip is very interesting. I mean, it's fun to be involved in setting the direction—or at least being valued in what that direction is—for an enterprise. Imagine when that enterprise is the USA!
  
• Some say that civilization as we know it is headed down the tubes, but I present three examples that say those folks are wrong: (1) A young man waiting for a plane a few weeks ago was reading Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl, a book I can recommend without reservation; (2) young man on the plane next to me the other day was reading The True Believer by Eric Hoffer, an author I can recommend without reservation (even if he did turn into a crank in his dotterage); (3) young (Israeli—kid was no older than fourteen) man on the plane next to me today had a CD of King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King. Have confidence in the next generation. We are in good hands.
  
• I supposedly have a sabbatical coming up a year from now. What to do? What? To? Do?
  

Labels: abet, amendment 2, assessment, council, dc, district of columbia, diversity, education, engineering, eweek, fairness, families, noglstp, obama, randomness, washington