"The American presidency . . . is merely a way station en route to the blessed condition of being an ex-president."
—John Updike

The presidency is a captivating concept in the hearts and minds of the American people. Part commander-in-chief, part national symbol, the role of president of the United States of America has been studied and commemorated by a rich trove of literature—in fiction and nonfiction, in serious political analysis and lighthearted satire. Yet despite the vast scholarship available, the lives of our presidents after leaving office remain remarkably unprobed. In Citizen-in-Chief, Leonard Benardo and Jennifer Weiss reveal that the true stories of these great leaders, whose quest for power brought them to the country’s highest office, are rarely complete once they leave the White House.

Now, as another president strides uncertainly toward the sunset, Citizen-in-Chief examines the dramatic, little-known, and often heart-rending postpresidential lives of former Oval Office occupants. It offers the most in-depth look to date at the diverse and broad-ranging paths these famous—sometimes notorious—men have taken: