Recommended Reading Path: Where to Start with Craig Fehrman
Craig Fehrman is a historian and journalist who writes deeply researched, narrative-driven non-fiction. Because his books cover distinct subject areas—presidential literature, American exploration, and indie music history—there is no single overarching narrative or chronological continuity. However, there is a clear thematic path that highlights his growth as a historian and offers the most rewarding experience for readers.
For the majority of readers, the best starting point is Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote. This book is Fehrman’s signature work and serves as the perfect introduction to his narrative style. It explores how U.S. presidents used writing to shape their political campaigns and personal legacies. By starting here, you get a sense of his ability to weave archival discoveries into compelling human-interest stories.
If you enjoy the presidential focus of his debut, the logical next step is The Best Presidential Writing: From 1789 to the Present. Fehrman edited and curated this anthology, which functions as an excellent companion piece to Author in Chief, letting you read the actual historical documents and speeches discussed in his main book.
For readers interested in a broader view of early American history, move on to his latest major work, This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark. This book shifts the focus from the White House to the frontier, providing a fresh, revisionist look at one of the country's most famous expeditions.
Finally, music fans and readers looking for a shorter, localized narrative can round out their reading list with Home Grown: Cage the Elephant and the Making of a Modern Music Scene, a Kindle Single that showcases Fehrman's early journalism and profile-writing roots.
Craig Fehrman Books in Publication Order
If you prefer to follow Fehrman’s career chronologically as it unfolded in print, you can read his books in publication order. This highlights his transition from localized music journalism to national historical research:
- Home Grown: Cage the Elephant and the Making of a Modern Music Scene (2013) – A Kindle Single charting the rise of the rock band Cage the Elephant in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
- Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote (February 2020) – An investigative look at presidential authorship, libraries, ghostwriters, and publication histories.
- The Best Presidential Writing: From 1789 to the Present (November 2020) – A curated companion anthology featuring speeches, private letters, and official documents from American leaders.
- This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark (April 2026) – A revisionist history of the Corps of Discovery, utilizing newly uncovered documents to reconstruct their journey.
Deep Dive: The Presidential and American History Sequence
Author in Chief (2020)
Fehrman spent nearly a decade researching and writing this book, which stands as a landmark study of presidential literature. Rather than a dry political analysis, the book explores the human vulnerabilities, financial anxieties, and calculated ambitions of writing presidents. From Thomas Jefferson’s self-published Notes on the State of Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant’s race against cancer to finish his memoirs, and modern campaign books like Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal, Fehrman demonstrates that books have always been central to the construction of presidential power. It serves as a standalone history of American print culture as much as a political history.
The Best Presidential Writing (2020)
Published later in the same year as his debut, this volume is an anthology compiled and edited by Fehrman. It gathers iconic speeches, obscure diary entries, and personal letters from various presidents since George Washington. It serves as a primary source companion to Author in Chief, giving readers direct access to the prose styles, rhetorical strategies, and intimate thoughts of the presidents discussed in his narrative history.
This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark (2026)
Departing from the presidency, this book takes a comprehensive, fresh look at Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s famous expedition to the Pacific. Drawing on newly analyzed historical documents, journals, and letters, Fehrman reconstructs the logistical realities, cultural interactions, and internal dynamics of the expedition. The book aims to demythologize the journey, presenting the members of the Corps of Discovery as complex human beings navigating a vast political and physical landscape.
The Music Non-Fiction: Home Grown (2013)
Before dedicating himself to early American history, Fehrman published Home Grown: Cage the Elephant and the Making of a Modern Music Scene. Originally released as a digital Kindle Single, this short work explores how a group of musicians from Bowling Green, Kentucky, grew into the internationally successful rock band Cage the Elephant. It also examines the broader cultural ecosystem of the regional Kentucky music scene, providing a fascinating snapshot of modern rock history and showcasing Fehrman’s early talent for narrative journalism.
What to Know Before You Start
Fehrman's books are highly accessible to general readers. You do not need a background in political science or early American history to appreciate his work. He writes with a focus on human relationships, behind-the-scenes struggles, and cultural contexts. While *Author in Chief* and *The Best Presidential Writing* form a perfect thematic pairing, every single book in his bibliography can be read as a standalone work. If you choose to read *This Vast Enterprise* first because you are interested in the Lewis and Clark expedition, you will not miss any continuity or context from his presidential books.