Second Acts : Presidential Lives and Legacies after the White House

F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, "There are no second acts in American lives", but more and more, our former presidents are proving him wrong. No longer fading into the background upon leaving the highest office in the land, former presidents perform valuable services as political advisors and international emissaries. From Eisenhower taking Kennedy to the woodshed (literally) on the Bay of Pigs crisis, to Carter earning the Nobel Peace Prize, to Bush Sr. and Clinton joining forces for tsunami and Katrina relief, the author examines the increasingly important roles that former presidents have in our nation and throughout the world. Through interviews with former presidents, first ladies, family members, friends, and staffers, the author also delves into the very human stories that take place as ex-presidents adjust to life and attempt to shape their historical legacies.

Author Mark K. Updegrove has been publisher of Newsweek and president of TIME Canada.