I’m going to be traveling this President’s Day weekend, so I was thinking about taking something “presidential” with me to read along the way. A quick glance at my bookshelf proves that there is no lack of literature about world leaders, especially US Presidents.

My bookshelf is an eclectic space, with room for many points of views and perspectives. Mein Kampf shares the corner with Gandhi’s Non-Violence Resistance. Khomeini, Carter, Kocharian, Nixon, Truman and Clinton all have space on my shelves, and they all have a lesson to share.

I’m always intrigued when a world leader mentions in their autobiographies what they were reading at pivotal moments in national and world history. It makes you wonder, what was Truman reading when he made the decision to drop the nuclear bomb on Japan? What was Kennedy’s bedside book as the Cuban Missile Crisis heated up? Did Lincoln pick up a novel or biography on his way to address the troops in Gettysburg?

This weekend pick up a book from one of the world’s good, bad, or bizarre leaders, and let us know if they have a good book to share!