A book has been quietly, patiently percolating in my head for a while now.

I’m in the process of getting the book out of my head and into my hands. And hopefully into your hands, too.

What began as a half-hearted commitment to read a book about every US President morphed into a full-blown obsession. After realizing how little I retained on my quest, I started documenting facts I found interesting or relevant. Hundreds of sketchbook pages later, I’ve collected an array of largely useless trivia and frequently bite my tongue to keep from shoehorning my presidential knowledge into completely unrelated conversations.

book teaser animation

My book is an accumulation of the most interesting presidential trivia I’ve gathered over the years.

It will fill in some of the gaps of what we were taught when we were younger. Make these guys seem more real. And maybe shove some of what we do know off-balance a bit or even pique interest in learning more. (‘Cause as the saying goes … if we don’t remember the past, we’re doomed to repeat it.)

It isn’t political.

My main interests are the more mundane aspects of the presidents’ lives (and the lives of those who surrounded them). Finding the weird threads that connect seemingly unconnected people, times, or events is thrilling for me. This book tugs on some of those threads and aspires to shed new light on this largely homogenous group of individuals. More of the focus is on the deceased presidents because I’ve found uncovering information about them to be especially fascinating and more unexpected. There’s more to learn. And fewer people will know if my doodles are way off-base. (Seriously, do you even know what Zachary Taylor looks like?)

But it’s also not not political.

I’m not a journalist. I’m not claiming to be an impartial storyteller. Millard Fillmore was a garbage president and I challenge you to change my mind. (Actually, don’t bother. I’m pretty committed to this opinion.)

You won’t find the standard stuff in this book. Big accomplishments taught in school, even if long forgotten. I’m not into policy. It’s the stuff that makes these guys relatable. Or ridiculous. Or mind-boggling. That’s the stuff I’m into. And I hope you are, too.

How to use this book

There’s structure to this book, but plenty of chaos as well. I didn’t tackle the presidents chronologically on my quest. (Speaking of tackling, did you know that Gerald Ford was recruited by the Lions and the Packers?) If I’m being honest, I would have bailed on this project pretty early if I had. It worked out in a delightfully unexpected way. Reading out of order helped highlight interesting themes, similarities, contrasts, and coincidences that may have gone unnoticed if I started off with the founding fathers and continued on down the line.

The more I learned, the more curious I became. I couldn’t get enough. Eventually, I realized that even though I was crossing these guys off one by one, I wasn’t done. I wanted to read more perspectives on each of them.

Since I didn’t go in order, I don’t expect my future readers to either. Read straight through or bounce around the topics of interest. If you read it out of order, go back and read the parts you missed because there’s a test at the end. Just kidding.

Or am I?

Join me as this book comes to life