From Washington to Lincoln to Trump to Biden, these are the stories of each president's childhood--told through fragments and quotes appropriated from more than 300 children's books, pop history books and scholarly biographies. Together, it's also the story of boyhood in America, a series of portraits that illustrate how growing-up has changed and the hurdles have shifted. From farm boys to aristocrats, these are America's origin stories, the legends of our leaders--a compendium of folklore and facts about the roots of American power.