(You can view the rest of our presidential Best Book lists by going to our Best US President Books page, or for a more in-depth look at how we found and ranked the books you can visit our Best Book About Every United States President article.)

The Best Book About Franklin Pierce
(Appears on 5 Lists)

Franklin Pierce (The American Presidents Series) by Michael Holt

Lists It Appears On:

• Best Presidential Bios
• Library of Congress
• Mashable
• Presidents USA
• The Washington Post

Charming and handsome, Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire was drafted to break the deadlock of the 1852 Democratic convention. Though he seized the White House in a landslide against the imploding Whig Party, he proved a dismal failure in office.

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#2-4 Books
(Appear on 4 Lists)

Franklin Pierce: Martyr for the Union by Peter Wallner

Lists It Appears On:

• At Times Dull
• Best Presidential Bios
• Library of Congress
• Presidents USA

Second volume of Wallner’s insightful two-volume biography of President Franklin Pierce. This volume covers Pierce in the White House and the controversial years after his presidency. Both volumes are also available in hardcover. Volume 1 was featured on C-Span’s Booknotes and on the History Channel.

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Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire’s Favorite Son by Peter Wallner

Lists It Appears On:

• Best Presidential Bios
• Library of Congress
• Presidents USA
• The Tailored Man

Biography of Franklin Pierce, New Hampshire native and 14th president of the United States. Volume covers Pierce to the night of his inauguration.

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Franklin Pierce: Young Hickory of the Granite Hills by Roy Nichols

Lists It Appears On:

• Best Presidential Bios
• Library of Congress
• Mandi Lindner
• Presidents USA

Franklin Pierce – – the fourteenth President of the United Sates – – has existed in the public mind as a stereotype rather than as a many-sided human being. The predominate picture that we have of him is that of a weak and shallow man, a “mediocrity” who left little imprint upon the history of the United States. This stereotype, however, is grossly misleading, for Franklin Pierce was not a simple man. Indeed, his personality was complex, made up of varying strengths and conflicting inadequacies, while his life, full of inner turmoil, had an aspect of overwhelming tragedy. This authoritative biography makes available a full-scale study of an unusually interesting human being. With the same thoroughness and intensity that have distinguished all if his historical writing, Roy F. Nichols follows Pierce’s life from his earliest years in New Hampshire, though his college career at Bowdoin, his marriage into the distinguished ranks of an established New England family, his rise in politics, his services as a brigadier general of volunteers in the Mexican War, and his election to the Presidency as a “dark Horse” candidate of the Democratic Party. Mr. Nichols minutely examines all the domestic and international crises that beset Pierce’s administration – – the growing conflict between North and South that was to erupt within a decade into civil war, the abortive attempt to annex Cuba, the troubled relations with England, the filibustering activities of such men as William Walker which aroused much resentment in Central America toward the United States. Not only does the author refashion the exciting events of these critical days in American history, but he also unfolds, with sympathy and compassion, the tragic developments that dogged Pierce in his personal life — his difficult marriage, his wife’s illness, the death of three sons, the final bleak years of obscurity before he passed away, almost forgotten by the nation he had served.

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#5
(Appears on 3 Lists)

The Presidency of Franklin Pierce by Larry Gara

Lists It Appears On:

• All The Presidents Books
• Library of Congress
• Presidents USA

Franklin Pierce was one of the least known, least liked, and least successful presidents in American history. In this new study of his administration, historian Larry Gara makes no attempt to revive Pierce’s reputation. Instead he provides a clear analysis of Pierce’s shortcomings as well as his few successes.

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#6-7
(Appear on 2 Lists)

The Expatriation of Franklin Pierce: The Story of a President and the Civil War by Garry Boulard

Lists It Appears On:

• Presidents USA
• Library of Congress

Considered a failure upon leaving the White House in 1857 and thought to be on his way to a well-deserved obscurity, Franklin Pierce during the Civil War emerged as a major spokesman for that era’s Peace Democrats, opposed to President Lincoln’s suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and in defense of civil liberties.A Northerner with many close Southern friends, including Jefferson Davis the president of the Confederacy and his wife, Varina Davis, Pierce was also thought to be a traitor because of such ties and was at one point nearly arrested for suspected seditious behavior.

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The Life of Franklin Pierce by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Lists It Appears On:

• Library of Congress
• Presidents USA

As one of America’s most famous writers and novelists, Nathaniel Hawthorne needs no formal introduction. He worked at a Custom House and joined Brook Farm, a transcendentalist community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before their return to The Wayside in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, leaving behind his wife and their three children. Much of Hawthorne’s writing centers on New England, many works featuring moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His fiction works are considered part of the Romantic movement and, more specifically, dark romanticism. His themes often center on the inherent evil and sin of humanity, and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexity. Several of them are considered examples of the finest American literature.

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#8-9
(Appear on 1 List)

Ordeal of the Union by Allan Nevins

Lists It Appears On:

• Library of Congress

Absolutely essential for students of the Civil War, the late historian Nevins’s National Book Award-winning masterwork, published over the years 1947-1971, is here presented complete and unabridged, both volumes combined for easy searching and research.

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Presidents’ War: Six American Presidents And The Civil War That Divided Them by Chris DeRose

Lists It Appears On:

• Presidents USA

For the first time, readers will experience America’s gravest crisis through the eyes of the five former presidents who lived it. Author and historian Chris DeRose chronicles history’s most epic Presidential Royal Rumble, which culminated in a multi-front effort against Lincoln’s reelection bid, but not before

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The Best Franklin Pierce Book Lists Consulted