What is at stake in the transformation of commemoration of the US presidency represented by the presidential library, argues Hufbauer (U. of Louisville), is how power is remembered and how these constructed memories of power shape current and future presidential authority. Presidential libraries are an attempt to construct sites with four elements of the American civil religion--saints (presidents), sacred places, sacred objects (the documents), and ritual practices--and thus influence central American representations of presidential power, and also questions of race, gender, national identity, and even national destiny. Although these general themes run throughout the text, the libraries of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Lyndon Johnson are each analyzed as separate entities. Also included is a chapter on the early 20th century Smithsonian memorials to first ladies and their relationship to later representations at presidential libraries. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)