The Mortal Presidency: Illness and Anguish in the White House

I am a grad student at Northeastern University, taking a class on The Presidency with the author of this book, Robert Gilbert. He is amazing and extremly knowledgeable on every aspect of the presidency. My classmates and I alllllll love him and agree that he is one of the best professors we have ever had. Buy his book, and if you have the chance TAKE HIS CLASS!

This book argues that the modern presidency is so stressful that it is a threat to the health of its occupants. After a short chapter on the general mortality rates of presidents, the author gives five fascinating case studies (of Presidents Coolidge, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Reagan). I don't think the author really proves his main premise: in recent times Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan have comfortably exceeded their normal life expectancies, and, for that matter, it looks like Lyndon Johnson was actually kept alive by his presidency. (He looked after himself prudently while in office, but started chain-smoking again and gorged on fried foods after he left. He died four years later.) For all that, however, the case studies are quite fascinating and should be studied by anyone who wishes to know more about any of the men in the case studies. For example, Gilbert shows that, contrary to legend, neither Roosevelt nor Kennedy performed his duties less than well, however poor his health. In short, the book is well worth reading for its biographical detail, but it doesn't really add anything to the debate about reforming the American presidency