Accidental Presidents
Eight Men Who Changed America
by Jared Cohen
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More Recommenders
“A timely book that is highly relevant to today's politics. | A vice president has ascended to the presidency 8 times in US history??Each had to step out of the shadow of his predecessor and earn the presidency in his own right." Just finished @jaredcohen?s book ?Accidental Presidents,? and cannot recommend enough. | A vice president has ascended to the presidency 8 times in US history—“Each had to step out of the shadow of his predecessor and earn the presidency in his own right." Just finished @jaredcohen’s book “Accidental Presidents,” and cannot recommend enough. | Great! @JaredCohen wrote a great book | I found “Accidental Presidents” by @JaredCohen timely and informative. As I am thinking about the next president and the challenges he or she will face, that book provides me a valuable and entertaining view of past presidents during analogous difficult times. | If you think today’s politics are wild, read #AccidentalPresidents by @jaredcohen to learn more about the 8 times in history a President died in office, and the unbelievable stories of assassinations and conspiracies that helped define American history:”
Source →“A timely book that is highly relevant to today's politics. | A vice president has ascended to the presidency 8 times in US history??Each had to step out of the shadow of his predecessor and earn the presidency in his own right." Just finished @jaredcohen?s book ?Accidental Presidents,? and cannot recommend enough. | A vice president has ascended to the presidency 8 times in US history—“Each had to step out of the shadow of his predecessor and earn the presidency in his own right." Just finished @jaredcohen’s book “Accidental Presidents,” and cannot recommend enough. | Great! @JaredCohen wrote a great book | I found “Accidental Presidents” by @JaredCohen timely and informative. As I am thinking about the next president and the challenges he or she will face, that book provides me a valuable and entertaining view of past presidents during analogous difficult times. | If you think today’s politics are wild, read #AccidentalPresidents by @jaredcohen to learn more about the 8 times in history a President died in office, and the unbelievable stories of assassinations and conspiracies that helped define American history:”
Source →“A timely book that is highly relevant to today's politics. | A vice president has ascended to the presidency 8 times in US history??Each had to step out of the shadow of his predecessor and earn the presidency in his own right." Just finished @jaredcohen?s book ?Accidental Presidents,? and cannot recommend enough. | A vice president has ascended to the presidency 8 times in US history—“Each had to step out of the shadow of his predecessor and earn the presidency in his own right." Just finished @jaredcohen’s book “Accidental Presidents,” and cannot recommend enough. | Great! @JaredCohen wrote a great book | I found “Accidental Presidents” by @JaredCohen timely and informative. As I am thinking about the next president and the challenges he or she will face, that book provides me a valuable and entertaining view of past presidents during analogous difficult times. | If you think today’s politics are wild, read #AccidentalPresidents by @jaredcohen to learn more about the 8 times in history a President died in office, and the unbelievable stories of assassinations and conspiracies that helped define American history:”
Source →“A timely book that is highly relevant to today's politics. | A vice president has ascended to the presidency 8 times in US history??Each had to step out of the shadow of his predecessor and earn the presidency in his own right." Just finished @jaredcohen?s book ?Accidental Presidents,? and cannot recommend enough. | A vice president has ascended to the presidency 8 times in US history—“Each had to step out of the shadow of his predecessor and earn the presidency in his own right." Just finished @jaredcohen’s book “Accidental Presidents,” and cannot recommend enough. | Great! @JaredCohen wrote a great book | I found “Accidental Presidents” by @JaredCohen timely and informative. As I am thinking about the next president and the challenges he or she will face, that book provides me a valuable and entertaining view of past presidents during analogous difficult times. | If you think today’s politics are wild, read #AccidentalPresidents by @jaredcohen to learn more about the 8 times in history a President died in office, and the unbelievable stories of assassinations and conspiracies that helped define American history:”
Source →Recommended by 6 notable people, including Adam Grant and Ray Dalio
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Reading Profile
Should I read this?
Accidental Presidents offers eight narrative portraits of men who succeeded to the U.S. presidency without election, using anecdote-rich scenes and readable context to show how personality and circumstance interact with office power. It’s strongest as a set of self-contained stories that make succession stakes concrete for non-specialist readers; it does not prioritize dense archival argument or exhaustive methodology, so expect some interpretive generalizations and repeated themes across cases. Use it for fast historical orientation rather than scholarly deep-dives.
Read this if...
- •a high-school civics teacher planning a unit on presidential succession who needs vivid stories and clear examples to engage students quickly
- •a mid-level policy adviser drafting transition memos who wants concise historical precedents to reference when preparing for unplanned transfers of power
- •a weekend reader who prefers narrative political biography over heavy academic prose and wants self-contained chapters suitable for commuting or short sittings
Skip this if...
- •you'll likely put it down when chapters start to echo the same personality-vs-institution thesis; midbook repetition is the common drop-off point
- •annoying if you prefer dense archival sourcing, tight methodological argument, or a footnote-rich scholarly apparatus rather than storytelling
- •not a fit if you want practical how-to guidance or hands-on exercises — no exercises or manuals here
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The strength and prestige of the American presidency has waxed and waned since George Washington. Accidental Presidents looks at eight men who came to the office without being elected to it. It demonstrates how the character of the man in that powerful seat affects the nation and world.Eight men have succeeded to the presi...
Before You Buy
Reading Specifications
Difficulty:hard
Audience Fit
- a high-school civics teacher planning a unit on presidential succession who needs vivid stories and clear examples to engage students quickly
- a mid-level policy adviser drafting transition memos who wants concise historical precedents to reference when preparing for unplanned transfers of power
- a weekend reader who prefers narrative political biography over heavy academic prose and wants self-contained chapters suitable for commuting or short sittings
- you'll likely put it down when chapters start to echo the same personality-vs-institution thesis; midbook repetition is the common drop-off point
- annoying if you prefer dense archival sourcing, tight methodological argument, or a footnote-rich scholarly apparatus rather than storytelling
- not a fit if you want practical how-to guidance or hands-on exercises — no exercises or manuals here
Check formats, pricing, and availability options for Kindle, physical print, or audiobooks directly.
View available editions on AmazonKey themes
Why recommended
Recommended by 10 sources and appears in Most Recommended Books, Politics, and History.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Eric Schmidt
“A timely book that is highly relevant to today's politics. | A vice president has ascended to the presidency 8 times in US history??Each had to step out of the shadow of his predecessor and earn the presidency in his own right." Just finished @jaredcohen?s book ?Accidental Presidents,? and cannot recommend enough. | A vice president has ascended to the presidency 8 times in US history—“Each had to step out of the shadow of his predecessor and earn the presidency in his own right." Just finished @jaredcohen’s book “Accidental Presidents,” and cannot recommend enough. | Great! @JaredCohen wrote a great book | I found “Accidental Presidents” by @JaredCohen timely and informative. As I am thinking about the next president and the challenges he or she will face, that book provides me a valuable and entertaining view of past presidents during analogous difficult times. | If you think today’s politics are wild, read #AccidentalPresidents by @jaredcohen to learn more about the 8 times in history a President died in office, and the unbelievable stories of assassinations and conspiracies that helped define American history:”
View sources (5) ▾80%
Appears In
Not sure if this is the right fit?
Consider The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. Recommended by 8 sources.
“Soft-spoken, heavily illustrated fable built from short dialogues and watercolor sketches. Each spread pairs a spare line of text with a loose drawing, so the pleasure is visual and aphoristic rather than narrative; readers collect felt-true sentences more than plot. Most useful when you want quick consolations, a prompt for conversation with a child, or a pause during a rough day. Limiting if you want sustained argument, concrete advice, or tightly plotted storytelling: the repetition of gentleness can feel sentimental or thin after a while.”
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Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.