Faded Glory; Presidents Out of Power

New York: Praeger, 1985. Presumed first paperback printing. Trade paperback. Very good. x, 175, [1] pages. Illustrations. Bibliography. Index. Cover has slight wear and soiling. The author is a noted journalist. He joined the United Press International Bureau in 1967. Since then he has worked for a number of newspapers and is currently with the Orlando Sentinel. His articles have appeared in the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, The Nation, and Washington Monthly. He has won the George Polk Award and the Gerald Loeb Award for Journalism. James Clark delves deeply into the archives of our nation's presidential history to reveal that, for many former presidents, life after the White House was far from a gratifying experience and often brought poverty, despair, and the hope that somehow they might return to power. Focusing on individual presidential lives, Clark relates how Thomas Jefferson slipped into poverty and spent his final days trying to sell his beloved Monticello; how Franklin Pierce succumbed to alcoholism; how James Buchanan was suspected of being a Confederate spy, and more. Clark reveals uncharacteristic behavioral patterns of former presidents who, filled with frustration and resentment, leveled undue criticism at their successors. He also observes that those men who wished to remain in the White House, often left with great bitterness, unable to deal with the loss of power and prestige.