A. Scott Berg—a Pulitzer Prize winner for his life of Charles Lindbergh—spent a decade researching and writing Wilson, his sprawling biography of the 28th President. And, boy, does it show. The book is marvelously detailed. We learn, for example, that on his first day in office, Wilson ate his “customary breakfast—two unbeaten raw eggs in orange juice, swallowed like oysters, a bowl of porridge, and coffee.” A few pages later, Berg reveals the President’s daily routine:
“After breakfast, he would dictate correspondence from nine until ten and then receive visitors until one. He would lunch with family members and then work another hour or two. Every afternoon included an automobile ride; and except for some light paperwork, he worked at night only during crises. Sundays he slept in before attending services at the Central Presbyterian Church. He even made time for recreational reading, asking the Librarian of Congress to keep him supplied with detective novels.”
This article appears in the September 2013 issue of The Washingtonian.
Publisher:
Putnam Adult
Price:
$23.99
