Life After Power

September 1, 2023

Ranging from Thomas Jefferson, who included his post-presidency founding of the University of Virginia on his tombstone but not the presidency itself, to Jimmy Carter's humanitarian efforts in the longest post-presidency in U.S. history, Accidental Presidents author Cohen explores Life After Power. Prepub Alert.

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February 12, 2024
Cohen (Accidental Presidents), a former adviser to secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton, offers an affable exploration of life after the presidency. With a storyteller’s verve, he profiles seven presidents—Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, Jimmy Carter, and George W. Bush. Opening the narrative in 1825, when an 82-year-old Jefferson’s ambitions for the University of Virginia, which he’d founded, were threatened by a days-long student riot, Cohen explains that in his later years, the former president had come to consider UVA as a crowning achievement, second only to his achievements as a politician. Unlike Jefferson, most of the other presidents Cohen profiles turned to activism or philanthropy as a means of redeeming themselves after lackluster presidencies: Adams’s unsuccessful single term in the White House was followed by a triumphant and effective embrace of abolitionism as a congressman, and Hoover led “international famine relief” after WWII hoping to be remembered as a humanitarian rather than for the Great Depression. Bush stands out for removing himself entirely from public affairs after his disastrous second term ended. Though sometimes contorted by Cohen’s determined nonpartisanship (he even spins Bush’s postpresidency painting career as inspiring: “His work elevates people often overlooked... and... contributes to important conversations”), this survey is redeemed by its unique premise. The result is a fresh and informative take on presidential history.

Starred review from February 1, 2024
A survey of the rewarding post-term afterlives of seven U.S. presidents. "Between their last day in office and their last day on earth, former presidents have a finite amount of time to make their marks upon the world," writes Cohen, an executive at Goldman Sachs. This follow-up to Accidental Presidents focuses on seven former presidents who made the most of their remaining time. In some cases, their post-term accomplishments far exceeded those made in office, greatly enhancing their legacies. Thomas Jefferson's years of political service, including two presidential terms, were less satisfying to him than his dream of designing and establishing the University of Virginia. John Quincy Adams' second act as a House Representative provided him with a platform to lead the abolitionist movement. Grover Cleveland became the only president who, after leaving office, would later serve another term. Lackluster one-term presidents William Howard Taft and Herbert Hoover had more success later, as well: Taft served as chief justice of the Supreme Court for a decade, and Hoover's post-World War II humanitarian efforts eclipsed his notoriously unpopular presidential term during the early years of the Great Depression. Cohen's recent examples are Jimmy Carter, who "transformed being a former into a platform" in what is the lengthiest post-term period to date, tirelessly attending to altruistic causes throughout the world, and George W. Bush, who chose to remove himself from politics altogether, which increased his approval rating and allowed him to dedicate time to personal pursuits such as painting. The author packs this expansive sweep of presidential history with enough storytelling verve and grounded research to legitimize these presidents' underrepresented post-term stories. Cohen effectively proves that, for these seven men, "life doesn't end with the job that will be the first line of their obituaries." An engaging dip into the history of the presidency.

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