Calvin Coolidge by David GreenbergDavid Greenberg’s Calvin Coolidge is a short, approachable biography that strikes an almost perfect balance between rigorous scholarship and readability.

The main narrative runs only 159 pages, showing a brevity appropriate for its taciturn subject. Of ten chapters, the first deals with his life pre-politics, the second with his political rise, and the final chapter with his post-presidential life. So the majority of the book, the remaining seven chapters, is focused on his presidency. Yet Greenberg avoids the common temptation to sacrifice narrative flow for minutiae.

This book is probably best suited for the casual or moderately serious history buff looking for a first Coolidge biography.

Overall rating: 4.5 stars

Scholarship: 5 stars

Readability: 5 stars

Objectivity: 5 stars

Clean Language: 4.5 stars

Faith Integration: 4 stars