Gerald R. Ford: A Selected Bibliography

The list below describes a selection of published biographies and memoirs concerning President Ford's career, especially his presidency.

For more information about published sources concerning President Ford, his administration, or issues and events of his presidency, contact the Ford Library.

  • Bauer, Stephen M. At Ease in the White House: The Uninhibited Memoirs of a Presidential Social Aide. Birch Lane Press, 1991.
    Four chapters cover the Ford administration.
  • Booraem, Hendrik. The Education of Gerald Ford. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2016.
  • Booraem, Hendrik. Young Jerry Ford: Athlete and Citizen. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2013.
  • Brinkley, Douglas. Gerald R. Ford. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2007.
  • Campaign for President: The Managers Look at '76, edited by Jonathan Fraser and Janet Moore, Cambridge, MA: Ballinger, 1977.
  • Cannon, James. Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment with History. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
    Chapters 1-3 concern Ford's early life and election to Congress; chapters 4-7 his congressional career; chapters 8-11 Watergate; chapters 12-19 concern Ford's appointment as Vice President, his vice presidency, the move to impeach Richard Nixon, and the transition to the presidency; chapter 20 concerns the Nixon pardon; and chapter 21 is a summary of the Ford presidency.
  • Casserly, John J. The Ford White House: Diary of a Speechwriter. Boulder, CO: Colorado Associated University Press, 1977. [Memoir by a speechwriter for President Ford. It covers the period from November 1974 to January 1976.]
  • Cheney, Dick with Liz Cheney. In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011. [Memoir by President Ford's Assistant to the President for White House Operations.]
  • Coleman, William T. Counsel for the Situation: Shaping the Law to Realize America's Promise. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2010 [Memoir by Secretary of Transportation - see part V "Serving in the Ford Cabinet" - pages 213-277]
  • Congressional Quarterly, Inc. President Ford: The Man and His Record. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1974. [Background on Ford's political career and legislative record prior to becoming President, including his statements on major issues.]
  • Congressional Quarterly, Inc. Presidency. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1974-1976. [Annual volumes reviewing activities or issues.]
  • Coyne, John R. Fall in and Cheer. New York: Doubleday, 1979. [Memoir. Chapter 7 concerns his service as a Ford speechwriter, August 1974-February 1975.]
  • DeFrank, Thomas M. Write It When I'm Gone: Remarkable Off-the Record Conversations with Gerald R. Ford. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2007. [The author is a journalist who covered Gerald Ford through the Vice Presidential and White House years and then conducted extensive off-the-record interviews with the President during the post-presidential years]
  • Ford, Betty. The Times of My Life. New York: Harper & Row, 1978. [Mrs. Ford's memoir - chapters 22- 37 concern her husband's presidency. The book emphasizes personal and family experiences rather than political events.]
  • Ford, Betty. A Glad Awakening . Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1987.
  • Ford, Gerald R. Selected Speeches. Arlington, VA: R.W. Beatty, 1973. [A collection of speeches Ford delivered between 1965 and 1972 concerning politics and domestic and foreign affairs.]
  • Ford, Gerald R. A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald R. Ford. New York: Harper & Row, 1979. [Memoir mainly concerning his presidency.]