It took me about 245 years and it put me behind schedule on my Read 50 Books in 2014 goal, but I finally finished “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt” by Edmund Morris. Before reading the book, what I knew about Roosevelt was basically caricature — the big teeth, the cowboy stuff, etc. Now that I know a little more about him, I get the feeling that the caricatures aren’t that far from the truth. He seems like a force of nature more than an actual human person.

I realized as I read the book that my knowledge of U.S. history is superficial at best. I’d like to change that, so I’m going to try to read at least one biography of each president. I’m not going to put a time limit on this one. Even if I manage to read one every month, it’ll take nearly four years. And we’ll have a whole new president by then! It’s a never-ending project!

I’m planning to go in chronological order; here are the first few I’ll be looking for:

George Washington

“His Excellency: George Washington,” Joseph Ellis

“Washington: A Life,” Ron Chernow

“1776,” David McCullough

John Adams

“John Adams: A Life,” John Ferling

“John Adams,” David McCullough

Thomas Jefferson

“Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power,” Jon Meacham

“American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson,” Joseph Ellis

You can see the list of presidential biographies I’m considering right here. Please let me know if I’m missing, say, your favorite Taft tome! (Favorite Taft tomes seem to be in short supply.)