‘Author in Chief’ finds the gold amid the dross of presidential memoirs
When reading the dozens of anecdotes Craig Fehrman has assembled in “Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote,” his joyfully engrossing debut, the question naturally arises: Why? Having sought, achieved, or successfully survived the highest elected office in the United States, why would so many of these men bother with the grubby and tedious task of writing a book, or having one written on their behalf?
