Citizen-In-Chief - by Leonard Benardo & Jennifer Weiss (Paperback)

About the Book

[A] remarkably revealing history. This well-researched, opinionated account does a fine job of filling a surprisingly empty historical niche. Publishers Weekly"Citizen-in-Chief, "The Second Lives of the American Presidents, is a smartly researched, surprising, often witty, and always revealing look at former presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush. Authors Leonard Benardo and Jennifer Weiss offer readers entertaining true stories of the radical turns, provocative rehabilitations, and tragic trajectories of presidential lives after the White House. Washington Post "columnist Richard Cohen calls Citizen-in-Chief, " an engrossing book, Benardo and Weiss tell a fascinating tale, and he properly states that where our nation s leaders went after leading is often more interesting than the presidency itself. "

Book Synopsis

"[A] remarkably revealing history....This well-researched, opinionated account does a fine job of filling a surprisingly empty historical niche."
--Publishers Weekly

Citizen-in-Chief, The Second Lives of the American Presidents, is a smartly researched, surprising, often witty, and always revealing look at former presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush. Authors Leonard Benardo and Jennifer Weiss offer readers entertaining true stories of the radical turns, provocative rehabilitations, and tragic trajectories of presidential lives after the White House. Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen calls Citizen-in-Chief, "an engrossing book, Benardo and Weiss tell a fascinating tale," and he properly states that where our nation's leaders went after leading is often "more interesting than the presidency itself."

From the Back Cover

Despite their colossal achievements as founding fathers, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe all ended their lives impoverished and in debt.

Ulysses S. Grant saved his family from a life of penury by finishing his bestselling memoirs on the very eve of his death.

Having failed to address HIV-AIDS effectively as president, Bill Clinton directed groundbreaking efforts after leaving office to make life-saving AIDS drugs affordable.

In Citizen-in-Chief, Leonard Benardo and Jennifer Weiss examine the dramatic, little-known, sometimes inspiring, and often heartrending post-presidential lives of former Oval Office occupants. From the high-profile humanitarianism of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton to the quiet achievements of Rutherford B. Hayes and Herbert Hoover, Citizen-in-Chief reveals that the true stories of great leaders are rarely complete once they leave the White House.

Review Quotes

"Appealing to both general readers and history geeks....[A] readable approach to a significant aspect of presidential history that doesn't always receive the treatment it deserves." -- Kirkus Reviews

"[A] remarkably revealing history....this well-researched, opinionated account does a fine job of filling a surprisingly empty historical niche." -- Publishers Weekly

"A lively, insightful, and illuminating examination of an underexamined yet influential American institution: the postpresidency. Benardo and Weiss show how our chief executives' 'second lives' are as diverse--and as rich in uplifting tales and cautionary ones--as their time at the pinnacle of power." -- Strobe Talbott, president, The Brookings Institution

"The afterlife of a president, a dimming of the spotlight and a final chance at buffing the reputation, can sometimes be more interesting than the presidency itself--at least it is in this engrossing book. Benardo and Weiss tell a fascinating tale." -- Richard Cohen, columnist, Washington Post