Presidents as American Caesars?

Ancient Roman writer Suetonius created a biographical project he called The 12 Caesars, a book which detailed the public and private lives of 12 consecutive Roman leaders such as Julius Caesar, Nero, and Caligula and is still being read today. Now 2,000 years later, using Suetonius' biographical sketch formula as a model, noted biographer Nigel Hamilton has composed his American Caesars: Lives of the Presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush.

Hamilton acknowledges that the use of the word Caesar, which connotes the idea of empire and emperor, may be disturbing to some. However, given American's place in the world in the 2nd half of 20th Century, it is apt.

"Pearl Harbor changed America," Hamilton said. "It introduced global responsibilities to the United States. At that time, America had about 10 (military) bases outside the U.S. Now we have 1,000 bases that we know of."

Hamilton said that he has always been "fascinated with leadership" and believes that quality may be best exemplified in the modern American president. "They have to carry enormous responsibilities especially after the bomb. Are they going to wage war?. Are they not going to wage war?" Hamilton said. 

Speaking about his latest book at the National Portrait Galley, Hamilton said he considers his work a collection of 12 "portraits in prose." He said that the scope of the project did not allow him to focus on all aspects of each of the presidents profiled. "I don't think that I've ever written a biographical book of less than 1,000 pages and all of those were about just 1 person," Hamilton noted. To limit the focus and keep in line with the title, Hamilton said he chose to discuss the presidents in light of foreign affairs and personal lives and "cut out domestic policies."

Hamilton makes no claim to objectivity. He finds Richard Nixon vile and George W. Bush inherently unfit to be president. He says the "3 giants" of the modern age are Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower.

He said Suetonius provided a great formula to use. "He really wrote spellbinding, intimate biography. It is so frank it can still be problematic today," Hamilton said. "I tried to write a book drawing on the lessons good and bad from the previous 12 residents of the White House."

Of course, only time will tell if his effort matched that of his model Suetonius. 

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
While book talks at Politics and Prose, Busboys and Poets, the National Archives, and the Library of Congress are great, there is something special about book talks at the National Portrait Gallery.  The talks are held in the actual bookstore for the museum and there is seating for only about 25 people.  It's a great chance to get really close to authors.