CHECK IT OUT

Among the leaders we honor this coming Monday, there have been farmers

and generals, lawyers and career politicians, a college president and a

movie star. While nonfiction volumes document how each has impacted

history, several new biographies may be more effective in revealing their

human sides.

For readers interested in the personal motives of the American icons

who played a pivotal role in bringing the United States into being,

historian John Ferling takes a new look at George Washington, John Adams

and Thomas Jefferson in “Setting the World Ablaze.” By reconstructing

their lives from documents left behind, he assesses the achievements of

three of our founding fathers. The result is a rich narrative that

portrays the country’s first leaders as real men with human doubts and

monumental ambitions.

According to David McCullough, one of seven contributors to “Power and

the Presidency,” George Washington’s integrity was the key quality that

defined his presidency. Traits that have played similar roles in other

leaders’ legacies include Abraham Lincoln’s depth of soul, Harry Truman’s

courage and John F. Kennedy’s charm.

McCullough’s essay on presidential power introduces a readable volume

about how twentieth-century presidents have commanded, wielded and

sometimes dissipated their influence. Included are concise chapters on

Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson,

Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

Two American presidents are among the heroes credited with winning the

Cold War in “Architects of Victory.” In this account about the battle

against communism, Joseph Shattan applauds Harry Truman for bold

initiatives that blocked Soviet advances and Ronald Reagan for leadership

that threw the “Evil Empire” on the defensive. Along with other portraits

of political and spiritual leaders, mini-biographies of our 33rd and 40th

presidents form an overview of one of the most volatile periods in

America’s past.

Jonas Klein focuses on a more personal history in “Beloved Island,”

the story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the influence their

summer home on Campobello Island had on them. The remote Canadian site

was where Franklin was stricken with polio in 1921 -- a defining event in

the couple’s private and public lives. For more than 80 years, it played

a major role in the formation of character for both Franklin and Eleanor,

and provided them with physical challenges and emotional solace.

Even more personal are sentiments documented in “I Love You, Ronnie,”

in which Nancy Reagan shares dozens of letters she received from her

husband of more than 50 years. The notes reveal a little about history

and a lot about the couple who shared the White House from 1981 to 1989.

Perhaps most moving is Ronald Reagan’s final letter to American citizens

following his diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease -- the truest testimony

that presidents are, indeed, as human as the rest of us.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams, in collaboration with

June Pilsitz. All titles may be reserved from home or office computers by

accessing the catalog at https://www.newportbeachlibrary.org.