Although Calvin Coolidge is widely judged to have been a weak and even an incompetent president, this study concludes that he was a leader disabled by a crippling emotional breakdown. After an impressive early career, Coolidge assumed the presidency upon the death of Warren Harding. His promising political career suffered a major blow, however, with the death of his favorite child, 16-year-old Calvin Jr., in July 1924. Overwhelmed with grief, Coolidge showed distinct signs of clinical depression. Losing interest in politics, he served out his term as a broken man. This is the first account of Coolidge's life to compare his behavior before and after this tragedy, and the first to consider the importance of Coolidge's mental health in his presidential legacy.

Gilbert carefully documents the dramatic change in Coolidge's leadership style, as well as the changes in his personal behavior. In his early career, Coolidge worked hard, was progressive, and politically astute. When he became Vice President in 1921, he impressed the Washington establishment by being strong and activist. After Harding's death, Coolidge took control of his party, dazzled the press, distanced himself from the Harding scandals, and showed ability in domestic and foreign policy. His son's death would destroy all of this. Gilbert documents Coolidge's subsequent dysfunctional behavior, including sadistic tendencies, rudeness and cruelty to family and aides, and odd interactions with the White House staff.

In Managing Crisis: Presidential Disability and the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, the contributors explore not only the historical beginnings and the subsequent development of the Twentty-Fifth Amendment, but also its contributions to the health of the nation. The Watergate scandal of 1973-1974 solidified the Amendment's strength when it was invoked after the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew, and again after Richard Nixon's resignation. President Reagan's failure to use the Amendment in 1981 after being shot and seriously wounded disappointed those who championed its provisiouns but the strong backlash he received actually strengthened the Amendment and convinced subsequent Administrations to develop plans for its use. The President who takes office in 2001 is likely to devise similar plans. The Amendment is positioned to be a crucial tool if, as seems inevitable, the country again confronts a case of presidential inability, whether the inability entails illness or even kidnapping. It respects the presidency by making it difficult to oust a Chief Executive from exercising his powers and duties, giving a decisive role to those likely to protect the president and embodying checks and balances at every point in the processs.It avoids a definition of the term "inability" so as to provide decision-makers with flexibility and escapes the legalisms that such a definition could cause in a time of political turmoil. Both a legal and a political document, the Amendment deals with its subjects practically and in a manner consistent with the principle of separation of powers. It is likely to ensure stability and continuity in the event of a national crisis. The contributors to this essentialvolume are: Birch Bayh, three-term United States Senator from Indiana, who authored and sponsored both the Twenty-Fifth and Twenty-Sixth Amendments; John D. Feerick, Dean of the Fordham University School of Law and author of The Twenty-Fifth Amendment; Robert E. Gilbert, Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University, and author of The Mortal Presidency, which was designated a 1998 outstanding book by Choice; Jeol K. Goldstein, Professor of Law at St. Louis University School of Law and author of The Modern Vice-Presidency and Understanding Constitutional Law; Robert J. Joynt, Distinguished University Professor of Neurology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy at the University of Rochester; E. Connie Mariano; M.D., Personal Physician to President Clinton and Director of the White House Medical Unit; Lawrence C. Mhr, M.D., White House physician from 1987 to 1993, serving Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, and currently professor of Medicine and Director of the Environmental Biosciences Program at the Medical University of South Carolina; Jerrold M. Post, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Political Psychology Program at the George Washington University; Robert S. Robbins, Professor of Political Science at Tulane University and co-author of When Illness Strikes the Leader; Kenneth W. Thompson, Director of the Miller Center at the University of Virginia frm 1978 to 1998; James F. Toole, M.D., Teagle Professor of Neurology and Professor of Public Health Sciences at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University; Tom Wicker, former Washington Bureau Chief for the New York Times, and James M. Young M.D., White House Physician serving Presidents Kennedy andJohnson, from 1963 to 1966.

In Managing Crisis: Presidential Disability and the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, the contributors explore not only the historical beginnings and the subsequent development of the Twentty-Fifth Amendment, but also its contributions to the health of the nation. The Watergate scandal of 1973-1974 solidified the Amendment's strength when it was invoked after the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew, and again after Richard Nixon's resignation. President Reagan's failure to use the Amendment in 1981 after being shot and seriously wounded disappointed those who championed its provisiouns but the strong backlash he received actually strengthened the Amendment and convinced subsequent Administrations to develop plans for its use. The President who takes office in 2001 is likely to devise similar plans. The Amendment is positioned to be a crucial tool if, as seems inevitable, the country again confronts a case of presidential inability, whether the inability entails illness or even kidnapping. It respects the presidency by making it difficult to oust a Chief Executive from exercising his powers and duties, giving a decisive role to those likely to protect the president and embodying checks and balances at every point in the processs.It avoids a definition of the term "inability" so as to provide decision-makers with flexibility and escapes the legalisms that such a definition could cause in a time of political turmoil. Both a legal and a political document, the Amendment deals with its subjects practically and in a manner consistent with the principle of separation of powers. It is likely to ensure stability and continuity in the event of a national crisis. The contributors to this essentialvolume are: Birch Bayh, three-term United States Senator from Indiana, who authored and sponsored both the Twenty-Fifth and Twenty-Sixth Amendments; John D. Feerick, Dean of the Fordham University School of Law and author of The Twenty-Fifth Amendment; Robert E. Gilbert, Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University, and author of The Mortal Presidency, which was designated a 1998 outstanding book by Choice; Jeol K. Goldstein, Professor of Law at St. Louis University School of Law and author of The Modern Vice-Presidency and Understanding Constitutional Law; Robert J. Joynt, Distinguished University Professor of Neurology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy at the University of Rochester; E. Connie Mariano; M.D., Personal Physician to President Clinton and Director of the White House Medical Unit; Lawrence C. Mhr, M.D., White House physician from 1987 to 1993, serving Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, and currently professor of Medicine and Director of the Environmental Biosciences Program at the Medical University of South Carolina; Jerrold M. Post, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Political Psychology Program at the George Washington University; Robert S. Robbins, Professor of Political Science at Tulane University and co-author of When Illness Strikes the Leader; Kenneth W. Thompson, Director of the Miller Center at the University of Virginia frm 1978 to 1998; James F. Toole, M.D., Teagle Professor of Neurology and Professor of Public Health Sciences at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University; Tom Wicker, former Washington Bureau Chief for the New York Times, and James M. Young M.D., White House Physician serving Presidents Kennedy andJohnson, from 1963 to 1966.

The presidency is hazardous to your helth. Fully two-thirds of our presidents have died before reaching their life-expectancy- despite being wealthier, better educated, and better cared for that most Americans. In Mortal Presidency, the first complete account of death and illness in the White House, Robert E. Gilbert looks at modern presidents including Coolidge, FDR, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Reagan. He shows- in some cases, for the first time- that all suffered from debilitating medical problems, physical and/or psychological, which they frequently managed to conceal from the public but which, in important ways, affected their political lives. This edition is updated to include a brief look at Presidents Clinton and Bush, both of whom suffered sudden and unpleasant indispositions while in office which to some degree affected their presidencies.

The presidency is hazardous to your helth. Fully two-thirds of our presidents have died before reaching their life-expectancy- despite being wealthier, better educated, and better cared for that most Americans. In Mortal Presidency, the first complete account of death and illness in the White House, Robert E. Gilbert looks at modern presidents including Coolidge, FDR, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Reagan. He shows- in some cases, for the first time- that all suffered from debilitating medical problems, physical and/or psychological, which they frequently managed to conceal from the public but which, in important ways, affected their political lives. This edition is updated to include a brief look at Presidents Clinton and Bush, both of whom suffered sudden and unpleasant indispositions while in office which to some degree affected their presidencies.