The President Is Dead!: The Extraordinary Stories of the Presidential Deaths, Final Days, Burials, and Beyond

(Hardback)

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Description

A fun, anecdote-filled, encyclopedic look at the circumstances surrounding the deaths of every president and a few "almost presidents," such as Jefferson Davis.
Packed with fun facts and presidential trivia,The President Is Dead!tells you everything you could possibly want to know about how our presidents, from George Washington to Gerald Ford (who was the most recent president to die), met their ends, the circumstances of their deaths, the pomp of their funerals, and their public afterlives, including stories of attempted grave robbings, reinterments, vandalism, conspiracy theories surrounding their deaths, and much more.
The President Is Dead!is filled with never-before-told stories, including a suggestion by one prominent physician to resurrect George Washington from death by transfusing his body with lamb's blood. You may have heard of a plot to rob Abraham Lincoln's body from its grave site, but did you know that there was also attempts to steal Benjamin Harrison's and Andrew Jackson's remains The book also includes "Critical Death Information," which prefaces each chapter, and a complete visitor's guide to each grave site and death-related historical landmark. An "Almost Presidents" section includes chapters on John Hanson (first president under the Articles of Confederation), Sam Houston (former president of the Republic of Texas), David Rice Atchison (president for a day), and Jefferson Davis. Exhaustively researched,The President Is Dead!is richly layered with colorful facts and entertaining stories about how the presidents have passed.

Reviews

"[The President Is Dead!] explains it all, and then some. . . . Historian Louis L. Picone chronicles the particulars of how each of our presidents met his maker, from Washington through Gerald Ford, the most recent to go." New York Post

"Drawn from extensive print and online sources as well as in-person visits to all the relevant sites, the work is carefully documented yet written in a lively style." Booklist

History and trivia lovers will find treasures in this well researched yet fun-to-read book . . . there is also some occasional wit bubbling through. The book is designed for both the historian who wants to know and the traveler seeking out places of historic interestsuch as the New York City Indian restaurant that was the former home of President Chester A. Arthur. The Princeton Info

Picone covers the deceased presidents in the order of their death with details of how and where they died, the funeral, where they are buried and in some cases post burial intrigue, and also provides visiting details of all the sites he wrote about. . . . it is written in an interesting and engaging manner that made me want to keep reading. . . . If you like American and/or presidential history this book is a must read . . . a lively page turner. partnersnetwork.com

"Oddly compelling." Newark Star Ledger
"[The President Is Dead!] explains it all, and then some. . . . Historian Louis L. Picone chronicles the particulars of how each of our presidents met his maker, from Washington through Gerald Ford, the most recent to go." New York Post

"Drawn from extensive print and online sources as well as in-person visits to all the relevant sites, the work is carefully documented yet written in a lively style." Booklist

History and trivia lovers will find treasures in this well researched yet fun-to-read book . . . there is also some occasional wit bubbling through. The book is designed for both the historian who wants to know and the traveler seeking out places of historic interestsuch as the New York City Indian restaurant that was the former home of President Chester A. Arthur. The Princeton Info

Picone covers the deceased presidents in the order of their death with details of how and where they died, the funeral, where they are buried and in some cases post burial intrigue, and also provides visiting details of all the sites he wrote about. . . . it is written in an interesting and engaging manner that made me want to keep reading. . . . If you like American and/or presidential history this book is a must read . . . a lively page turner. partnersnetwork.com

"Oddly compelling." Newark Star Ledger

Author Bio

Louis L. Picone is the author of Where the Presidents Were Born: The History & Preservation of the Presidential Birthplaces. An information technology professional, he has served on the board of the Roxbury Historic Trust and is a member of the Authors Guild and Mensa International. He has traveled to all fifty of the United States to visit presidential historic sites and is currently working on a masters degree in history. He resides in Roxbury, New Jersey.