Warren G. Harding photograph collection, P 146, Ohio History Connection
This page contains a list of some of the Ohio History Connection's most notable books about Warren G. Harding., arranged alphabetically by author. A full list of published works may be found by searching the Library Catalog.
Britton, Nan. The President's Daughter. New York: Elizabeth Ann Guild, 1927.
An exposé by Nan Britton, one of Harding's extramarital lovers and the mother of his illegitimate daughter, Elizabeth Blaesing, revealing her love affair with Harding.
Chancellor, William Estabrook. Warren Gamaliel Harding, President of the United States. Dayton, Ohio: Sentinal i.e. Sentinel Press, 1922.
This work regarding Harding was written by one of his contemporaries, albeit a hostile one; Chancellor is known to have loudly proliferated the rumor that Harding had black ancestry in an attempt to discredit him.
Downes, Randolph C. The Rise of Warren Gamaliel Harding, 1865-1920. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1970.
This book is one of the earliest biographies written in the aftermath of the Warren G. Harding papers being made available for research at the Ohio Historical Society. Downes is notable for his extensive research of those papers and his book's pre-publishing censoring by the Harding family in 1970.
Payne, Phillip G. Dead Last : The Public Memory of Warren G. Harding's Scandalous Legacy. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2009.
Payne examines the contexts and continued meaning of the Harding scandals for various constituencies. Payne explores such topics as Harding's importance as a midwestern small-town booster, his rumored black ancestry, the role of various biographers in shaping his early image, the tension between public memory and academic history, and, finally, his status as an icon of presidential failure in contemporary political debates.
Robenalt, James D. The Harding Affair : Love and Espionage during the Great War. 1st ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Robenalt documents Harding's secret affair with pro-German advocate Carrie Phillips as based on their previously undisclosed correspondence, and profiles the 29th president's personal life against a backdrop of the war and Phillip's possible role as a German spy.
Russell, Francis. The Shadow of Blooming Grove : Warren G. Harding in His Times. 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968.
This book is one of the earliest biographies written in the aftermath of the Warren G. Harding papers being made available for research at the Ohio Historical Society. Russell is particularly notable for his role in the saga surrounding the Carrie Phillips letters during the 1960's.
Sinclair, Andrew. The Available Man : The Life Behind the Masks of Warren Gamaliel Harding. New York: Macmillan, 1965.
This book is notable for being one of the earliest biographies, if not the earliest, written in the aftermath of the Warren G. Harding papers being made available for research at the Ohio Historical Society.
Ferrell, Robert H. The Strange Deaths of President Harding. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1996.
Ferrell, a prolific historian, discusses and attempts to dispel an array of attacks against Harding that have shattered his once stellar reputation and left him commonly regarded as one of the worst presidents in American history. He also contests the old rumor that Harding was poisoned to death, making the case that Harding died of chronic heart issues.