(CNN) -- The White House may be the official residence of the U.S. president, but it's only a temporary address. The former homes and libraries of presidents offer an inside look into the lives of the select few who served as the nation's leader. 

Nearly 80 million visitors have toured Mount Vernon, George Washington's home in Virginia. 

From simple log cabins to expansive estates, hundreds of presidential homes and historical sites are open to the public. Visitors can read the love letters between Harry Truman and his wife, Bess, examine hand-drawn maps by Herbert Hoover or eye the tintype photograph of young wife Lucy that Rutherford B. Hayes carried with him daily on Civil War battlefields and later in the White House. 

As we witness a new leader take office and celebrate past commanders-in-chief on President's Day this month, CNN asked William Clotworthy, author of "Homes and Libraries of the Presidents," to recommend five places for travelers to see a very human side of history's presidents. 

Lincoln's birthplace 

There's more than split rails at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky. The site, run by the National Park Service, offers exhibits and walking tours so the visitor can experience a little of the frontier life that shaped the nation's 16th president. 

The centerpiece is the large marble and granite Lincoln Memorial Building, which houses a small and humble log cabin. The cabin is not actually Lincoln's birth cabin -- that has been lost to history -- but it does try to replicate as closely as possible the tiny and primitive surroundings that sheltered the future commander in chief. 
Who is interviewed in the story?
What is his occupation?
What did he write?
What did he suggest to the interviewer?
How many places are there dedicated to those former executives?
Which number president was Lincoln?
Where can you learn about his early life?
What do they have to help you learn about him?
Can you visit the house where he was born?
Why not?
Do they have a house there?
What kind?
Is it similar to the real cabin?
Whose correspondence can you see at one of these places?
Where did the first president live?
William Clotworthy
CNN asked William Clotworthy, author of "Homes and Libraries of the Presidents," to recommend five places for travelers to see a very human side of history's presidents. 
author
William Clotworthy, author of "Homes and Libraries of the Presidents,"
"Homes and Libraries of the Presidents,"
William Clotworthy, author of "Homes and Libraries of the Presidents,"
to recommend five places for travelers to see a very human side of history's presidents.
 CNN asked William Clotworthy, author of "Homes and Libraries of the Presidents," to recommend five places for travelers to see a very human side of history's presidents. 
unknown
unknown
16th
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky. The site, run by the National Park Service, offers exhibits and walking tours so the visitor can experience a little of the frontier life that shaped the nation's 16th president. 
Hodgenville, Kentucky.
 Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky.
exhibits and walking tours
The site, run by the National Park Service, offers exhibits and walking tours so the visitor can experience a little of the frontier life that shaped the nation's 16th president. 
no
The cabin is not actually Lincoln's birth cabin -- that has been lost to history
that has been lost to history
The cabin is not actually Lincoln's birth cabin -- that has been lost to history
yes
The centerpiece is the large marble and granite Lincoln Memorial Building, which houses a small and humble log cabin. The cabin is not actually Lincoln's birth cabin -- that has been lost to history
a small and humble log cabin.
The centerpiece is the large marble and granite Lincoln Memorial Building, which houses a small and humble log cabin.
yes
but it does try to replicate as closely as possible the tiny and primitive surroundings that sheltered the future commander in chief. 
love letters between Harry Truman and his wife, Bess
Visitors can read the love letters between Harry Truman and his wife, Bess
Virginia.
Nearly 80 million visitors have toured Mount Vernon, George Washington's home in Virginia. 