The recent death of former President Jimmy Carter got me thinking about what prolific writers our presidents have been. Every chief executive since Herbert Hoover (the 31st U.S. president) has a presidential library established in his home state. These archives house the documents and artifacts of each president’s administration.
Fourteen presidents have published books; most have written papers, essays and speeches. Jimmy Carter was one of the most productive presidential authors, with over 30 books in all, including a published version of a Nobel Prize lecture, a book co-written with his wife, Rosalynn, and a children’s book illustrated by his daughter Amy.
The majority of books written by presidents are memoirs and autobiographies, but to my surprise there are several fiction books out there. Carter’s “The Hornet’s Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War” (2003) is hailed as “the first work of fiction written by a president of the United States.” Described as “a sweeping saga of the American South and the War of Independence,” Carter’s novel runs almost 500 pages.
Only one other former president has published fiction books: Bill Clinton, who has co-authored three titles with bestselling author James Patterson. Here are brief summaries of those works:
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