Presidents’ Bookshelf

Planetary scientist Lindy Elkins-Tanton recounts her journey from a troubled childhood to leading NASA’s Psyche mission to a metal asteroid. The memoir interweaves personal hardship with the thrill of scientific discovery and the fight to belong in male-dominated fields.

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Rebecca Donner tells the true story of her great-great-aunt Mildred Harnack, an American woman who led one of the largest resistance networks in Berlin during World War II. Drawing on diary entries, letters, and declassified intelligence documents, the book chronicles Harnack’s espionage and her eventual execution on Hitler’s direct orders.

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This biography recounts the extraordinary life of Virginia Hall, an American spy who became one of the most dangerous Allied agents in France during WWII. Despite a prosthetic leg, Hall organized resistance fighters, ran escape lines, and eluded the Gestapo.

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U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo’s memoir traces her journey from a troubled childhood through the landscape of her Muscogee Creek heritage toward finding her poetic voice. The companion volumes Sister Nations and Words like Thunder gather poetry and stories by Native American women writers.

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This illustrated book profiles women and girls whose inventions solved everyday problems and changed the world. Aimed at young readers, it celebrates female ingenuity across history.

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Chelsea Clinton introduces young readers to thirteen American women who overcame obstacles to make lasting contributions, from Harriet Tubman to Sonia Sotomayor. The illustrated picture book encourages children to persist in the face of adversity.

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One of the first women to earn a physics degree from Yale investigates why so few women pursue careers in science and math. Blending memoir with investigative journalism, she exposes the subtle biases that continue to push women out of STEM fields.

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George Morgan tells the story of his mother, Mary Sherman Morgan, America’s first female rocket scientist, who invented the liquid fuel that powered the satellite that saved the country’s space race. Despite her critical contributions, Morgan’s story was nearly lost to Cold War secrecy.

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Political commentator Tariq Ali offers a critique of Barack Obama’s presidency, arguing that Obama continued many of the Bush administration’s foreign and domestic policies rather than delivering transformative change.

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This illustrated volume explores clothing and fashion trends in early America, examining how dress reflected social status, cultural identity, and daily life in the colonies and the young republic.

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This collection gathers the poems that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis cherished throughout her life, as selected by her family and friends. Ranging from classic verse to modern poetry, it offers an intimate window into the literary tastes of one of America’s most iconic first ladies.

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Also available at Schlow Library

Robin Gerber distills Eleanor Roosevelt’s approach to leadership into practical lessons for modern women, drawing on Roosevelt’s transformation from a shy young woman into a fearless advocate for human rights.

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Also available at Schlow Library

Executive recruiter Janice Reals Ellig shares strategies for women navigating corporate careers, drawing on interviews with prominent female leaders across industries.

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Family therapist Michael Gurian explores the biological, emotional, and social development of girls, arguing that understanding innate gender differences can help parents and educators better support them.

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Historian Daniel Horowitz traces Betty Friedan’s intellectual development from her radical labor journalism in the 1940s through the creation of her landmark 1963 book, revealing that Friedan’s feminism had deeper roots in progressive politics than she publicly acknowledged.

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Journalist Linda Bird Francke investigates the experiences of women in the U.S. military during the 1990s, documenting harassment, discrimination, and the fierce debates over women in combat roles.

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Robert Harris’s thriller is set at Bletchley Park in 1943, where a brilliant young mathematician races to crack a new variant of the German Enigma code while investigating the disappearance of a mysterious woman.

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Architectural historian Robert Ensminger provides a comprehensive study of the iconic Pennsylvania barn, tracing its European origins and evolution across the American landscape. Richly illustrated, the book examines construction techniques and cultural significance.

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Psychologist Frances Carp presents research on the lives of professional women, examining how they navigated career ambitions alongside societal expectations of domesticity.

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Literary critic Elaine Showalter examines the tradition and art of American quilting as a metaphor for women’s creativity and community, connecting patchwork patterns to themes in women’s literature.

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David Budbill’s narrative poems create a vivid portrait of life in a fictional rural Vermont village, giving voice to loggers, farmers, and working-class characters.

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Also available at Schlow Library

Historian Patricia Albjerg Graham examines recurring crises in American public schooling, analyzing how shifting societal demands have shaped and strained the education system.

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Art historian Diane Kelder surveys the major Post-Impressionist painters with lavish color reproductions and accessible commentary, tracing how these artists broke from Impressionism and laid the groundwork for modern art.

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Rosalynd Pflaum tells the story of Madame Curie and her daughter Irene Joliot-Curie, two women who each won Nobel Prizes in science and navigated the male-dominated worlds of physics and chemistry.

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Nadya Aisenberg examines the systemic barriers women face in academic careers, based on interviews with women scholars who were denied tenure or left academia.

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This collection highlights the overlooked contributions of women throughout Pennsylvania’s history, from colonial times through the twentieth century.

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A practical guide explaining how ordinary citizens can handle routine legal matters without hiring an attorney, demystifying legal procedures for self-representation.

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Penn State professor Geoffrey Godbey provides a comprehensive textbook on recreation and leisure services, covering the philosophical, historical, and practical dimensions of parks and recreation management.

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This biography chronicles the life of Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia, the first woman in the world to receive a doctoral degree, awarded by the University of Padua in 1678.

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Historian Arnold Toynbee and contributing scholars examine great cities throughout history, exploring how urban centers have shaped civilization. Lavishly illustrated.

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Published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this illustrated survey spans five thousand years of artistic achievement, serving as both a guide to the museum’s collection and a concise visual history of world art.

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Also available at Schlow Library

Pulitzer Prize winner Samuel Eliot Morison profiles the Boston Federalist politician who played a prominent role in early American politics during the tumultuous years following the Revolution.

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Written for college students in the 1960s, this book addresses sexuality, relationships, and moral decision-making with unusual frankness for its era. Widely used on campuses during the sexual revolution.

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Samuel Eliot Morison’s magisterial single-volume history covers the full sweep of American civilization from pre-Columbian times through the Kennedy assassination, written with literary flair.

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This landmark volume assembles research from psychologists, sociologists, and educators on the nature and purpose of American higher education in the mid-twentieth century.

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Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Charles Yost analyzes the fragility of international peace and the failures of diplomacy in preventing conflict during the Cold War era.

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Undersecretary of State George Ball examines American foreign policy and the Atlantic alliance, arguing for closer cooperation between the United States and Western Europe.

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Former Harvard president James B. Conant evaluates the American comprehensive high school, recommending reforms to better serve students of all abilities. His influential report shaped education policy debates.

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Robert Blake’s definitive biography traces the extraordinary rise of the novelist-turned-politician who became one of Victorian Britain’s most colorful and consequential prime ministers.

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Also available at Schlow Library

Social psychologist Hadley Cantril presents findings from his pioneering cross-national survey research on human aspirations, fears, and satisfactions across fourteen countries.

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Psychiatrist Eric Berne introduces transactional analysis by cataloging the unconscious social “games” people use in everyday interactions. A groundbreaking bestseller that changed how millions understood their relationships.

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Anthropologist Margaret Mead pairs with photographer Ken Heyman to explore the universal institution of the family across cultures, documenting birth, childhood, courtship, and aging around the world.

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This biography chronicles George Bellows, the early twentieth-century American realist painter known for his dynamic depictions of urban life, boxing matches, and landscapes.

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Historian Robert K. Murray reassesses the presidency of Warren G. Harding, arguing that his administration achieved more than the scandals suggest, including economic recovery and arms limitation.

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Journalist A.T. Steele examines the history of American attitudes and policies toward China, tracing how misperception and ideology shaped a relationship of enormous geopolitical consequence.

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British writer V.S. Pritchett offers a literary portrait of New York City, capturing its energy and contradictions through elegant prose paired with evocative photographs by Evelyn Hofer.

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This collected edition gathers the complete poems of Robert Frost, including “The Road Not Taken,” “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” and “Mending Wall.” Frost’s deceptively simple verse explores nature, rural life, and the deeper complexities of human experience.

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Calvin Tompkins chronicles the history of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, revealing the colorful personalities who built one of the world’s greatest museums. Blends institutional history with vivid storytelling about art, money, and ambition.

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Literary historian McDermott surveys the writers and humorists of the American frontier who preceded Mark Twain, recovering a rich tradition of Western humor and storytelling.

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British writer V.S. Pritchett offers a literary portrait of New York City, capturing its energy and contradictions through elegant prose paired with evocative photographs by Evelyn Hofer.

Available at Schlow Library

Samuel Eliot Morison’s magisterial single-volume history covers the full sweep of American civilization from pre-Columbian times through the Kennedy assassination, written with literary flair.

Available at Schlow Library
Also available at Schlow Library

Carroll Atkinson traces the history of education from ancient civilizations through the mid-twentieth century, examining how societies have organized teaching, learning, and knowledge transmission.

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Will E. Matson examines the theoretical foundations of monetary policy and the gold standard, addressing debates about currency valuation and economic stability.

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This annual anthology collects the best American short stories of the year as selected for the prestigious O. Henry Awards, capturing the literary landscape of a turbulent era.

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Robert Gutman’s critical biography examines the life, music, and troubling ideology of Richard Wagner, giving full measure to his revolutionary contributions while not shying from his antisemitism.

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Also available at Schlow Library

Sociologist Jessie Bernard’s pioneering study examines the status, roles, and challenges of women in American higher education during the 1960s, documenting patterns of discrimination in universities.

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Warren S. Smith collects and annotates George Bernard Shaw’s speeches and writings on religion, revealing the playwright’s complex engagement with faith, morality, and Creative Evolution.

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Political scientist Ruth Silva reexamines the 1928 presidential election, analyzing how Prohibition, anti-Catholic prejudice, and cultural conflict shaped the outcome between Al Smith and Herbert Hoover.

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Anthropologist Ashley Montagu argues that humanity’s defining characteristic is not aggression but cooperation, tracing the evolution of empathy, learning, and social bonding.

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