Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House

by Mark K. Updegrove

…entertaining and illuminating…--The Washington Post

...lively accounts....This engrossing book [is] Highly recommended for public libraries.--Library Journal

…for those interested in the former presidents, this popular history will do the trick.-- Publishers Weekly

...revealing in detail and context--Kirkus Reviews

 



Mark K. Updegrove’s Second Acts is a smart and provocative look at the most exclusive club in America – ex-presidents. Highly recommended!
—Douglas Brinkley, Professor of History and Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Center at Tulane University

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Presidents, Biography, Us Presidents

368 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[Fran Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome book. Beginning with Harry Truman through Bill Clinton, the author writes about the Presidents after they left office. Their accomplishments, how they worked with each other, and their legacies make for interesting and truthfully, inspiring reading. I felt very happy when reading this book and then it dawned on me, Updegrove shows how even former enemies can become friends and partner to do good things. He also shows how men who were at the height of success (as President) can then retire from the presidency and rise to even greater glory...or find great happiness outside the spotlight of their former job.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book for quite a while....it ends with Bill Clinton and his chapter is short...and I picked it up the other day because I was hoping for a bedtime read that allowed me to sleep. Well, the book isn't boring (although I haven't been dreaming about former presidents) and its very interesting. The chapter on Jimmy Carter was quite an eye opener--the presidents who followed him weren't terribly amused by his travels around the world and his meetings with other leaders. If you like American history, this is a good one.

[Benjamin Wetmore · Rating 1 out of 5]

Slow and plodding. Covering the surface of former Presidents. Has the depth and investigative heft of newsweek or us news. Frankly pretty boring and underwhelming, regurgitating stories you’ve probably heard many times prior. Prob zero original research.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

**#62 of 120 books pledged to read during 2017**

[Sarah Logan-Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! I don’t read many political books, yet I could barely put it down. Definitely an engaging book.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is the only one the I'm aware of to really look at the strange position that former presidents hold. I've long been fascinated by the lives they've led after they left the White House, particularly Nixon (I could read a whole book about his post-presidency) and George H.W. Bush. Unfortunately, the book was good in places, but disappointing in others. The author seems not to be a serious historian and his claim to journalism fame was being the publisher of Newsweek, the LA manager of Time and the president of Time Canada. This lack of journalistic training comes though in his embarrassing fawning over Ronald Reagan especially. It also contains some unnerving typos, like when it says former President Truman heard Kennedy had been killed on Nov. 20, instead of Nov. 22.

[Jonathan Mandell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Before Truman, presidents received no pension from the government. Now, they get $186,000 a year, plus Secret Service protection, plus office expenses, etc. But that's just base pay for perks from the private sector. Reagan got $2 million for eight days of public appearances in Japan. Clinton made $10 million in 2006 from speeches.
This book goes chapter by chapter from Truman to Clinton, and, while a clip-and-paste job and not that terrifically written, there are worthwhile tidbits.
Nixon spent 20 years rehabilitating his image after he resigned in the wake of the Watergate scandal, and by the time he died, he had succeeded.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh.
I'm a presidential history dork, and in that regard I really enjoyed reading this book. Wonderful factoids--my two favorites were LBJ's hippie hairstyle post-presidency and Hillary's initial hitting on Bill in the Yale School library--but the writing is so sloppy that it makes this book a lot harder to recommend. The anecdotes from one chapter/presidency bleed into the next. Word choice is sloppy.
It's a 4 star for information and 2-star for writing quality.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reinforced what I already thought, that what ex-presidents do after their presidential term matters greatly. The services and agendas they pursue can be of great importance to the world. The author did a great job catching the essence of each presidents "second act" which made me wish (and sad) President Kennedy could have be afforded this as well. Easy read and entertaining.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, quick backgroun on post-presidential careers!

[Carolyn]

Very Interesting

[John L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book. Well written.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

while this book's overall star rating is 3.5 I'm giving it a full 5. I'm taking into consideration that some people who aren't history buffs might have scored it low. it probably doesn't deserve a full 5 stars, but I'm basing my rating on entertainment and ease of reading. I thought it was a nice blend of research and anecdotal storied. nothing we didn't already know, but fun reading nevertheless.