Ill-Advised

Last updated
Ill-Advised: Presidential Health and Public Trust
Ill-Advised, Presidential Health and Public Trust book cover.jpeg
Author Robert H. Ferrell
LanguageEnglish
Genre Non-fiction
Publisher University of Missouri Press
Publication date
1992
Publication placeUnited States
Pages205
ISBN 978-0-8262-1065-4

Ill-Advised: Presidential Health and Public Trust is a 1992 book by historian Robert Hugh Ferrell examining politically motivated cover-ups of serious medical issues afflicting U.S. presidents while they were in office. [1] [2] Although Dwight Eisenhower is the main focus of the book, it covers the presidency for a century, from Grover Cleveland's mouth cancer in 1893 to the health of George H. W. Bush, then-current president when the book was first published. All of these instances, Ferrell argues, raised serious questions about the fitness of each president to hold office, as well as whether the presidents and their physicians violated the public trust in keeping the incidents secret. [3]

Contents

Author

Ferrell, a professor emeritus at Indiana University, was a prolific author or editor of more than 60 books on a wide range of topics, including the U.S. presidency, World War I, and U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy. One of the country's leading historians, [4] Ferrell was widely considered the preeminent authority on the administration of Harry S. Truman, [5] and also wrote books about half a dozen other 20th-century presidents. [5] [6]

Synopsis

Ferrell describes the book as "a series of medical detective stories". [1] : xi  The book looks at the history of medical coverups during seven White House administrations: Grover Cleveland's secret operation to treat his mouth cancer; Warren G. Harding's chronic heart condition; Franklin Roosevelt's coverup of his eventually fatal heart disease; Dwight D. Eisenhower's heart disease; John F. Kennedy's Addison's disease; [1] : 151  the problems raised by Ronald Reagan's foiled assassination, 1984-85 colon cancer, and 1987 prostate surgery; [1] : 157  and George Bush's 1991 arrythmia diagnosis and a 1992 incident in which he became violently ill during a dinner with the Japanese prime minister. [1] : 159  In some cases, Ferrell writes, their health was poor enough that they should not have run for office at all. In others, physicians' incompetence or an excessive desire for secrecy may have prevented proper treatment of illnesses and contributed to early death. [3]

Ferrell devotes the largest section of the book, nearly 100 pages, to Eisenhower's heart attacks, stroke, and Crohn's disease, [3] drawing largely on the account of Brigadier General Thomas W. Mattingly, Eisenhower's cardiologist from 1952 until his death in 1969. [7] Mattingly's account is particularly critical of Eisenhower's personal physician, Howard Snyder. [7] Mattingly believed Snyder had lied about the severity of two incidents in 1949 and 1953—which Snyder called gastrointestinal events, but Mattingly believed were heart attacks [8] —perhaps even removing or altering files to protect Eisenhower's political future. [9]

The second-longest section of the book covers Franklin Roosevelt's declining health from 1943 to 1945, when he died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage. Roosevelt's medical issues were kept from the public for reasons of military secrecy during World War II, as well as to ensure his re-election as president in 1944. [1] : 28-48  The cover-up, Ferrell writes, was orchestrated by Roosevelt's personal physician, Admiral Ross McIntire, who Ferrell accuses of "lying about his patient" in his book White House Physician and "almost certainly remov[ing] the president's medical records from the safe at Bethesda." [1] : 38  [10] Ferrell would later write much more extensively on the topic in his 1998 book The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944-1945 . [11]

Ferrell writes that, in his opinion, it is "impossible to escape the conviction" that both Eisenhower and Roosevelt, despite serious health concerns while running for what would be their final terms as president, failed to properly consider whether their running mates (Richard Nixon and Harry S. Truman, respectively) were truly qualified to take over as president if necessary. [1] : 173 

Ill-Advised was one of several books Ferrell wrote about health and secrecy in the U.S. presidency, along with The Dying President and 1996's The Strange Deaths of President Harding. [12]

Critical response

Reaction to the book was positive.

Dr. Hugh L'Etang, writing in the journal Politics and the Life Sciences , said that Ferrell wrote "with the zeal of a prosecuting counsel" and "must be commended for locating hitherto undisclosed sources and for showing that the accepted version of events must continue to be challenged." [10] William Link, in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly , called the book "a significant addition" to the study of illness among world leaders, "convincingly demonstrat[ing]" that medical coverups are a serious and pervasive issue. He singled out the Eisenhower section of the book as "one of the most detailed presidential medical histories ever written." [13] Barbara Kellerman, in Presidential Studies Quarterly , called the book "a welcome addition to the field of leadership studies" while criticizing its brevity. [7] Emory University professor James Harvey Young, writing in the Indiana Magazine of History , said that Ferrell's writing "has a crisp explicitness and a forthrightness in making judgments." [3] Herbert Abrams, in the Journal of American History , called Ill-Advised "well organized and solidly documented ... the narrative is absorbing, while the recounting of the episodes of illness is generally accurate and authoritative." [14]

Conversely, some writers felt that Ferrell did not spend enough time on the other presidents covered in the book. Stephen Ambrose, writing in American Historical Review , called the Eisenhower material "remarkably detailed" and revealed previously unknown information about the severity of Eisenhower's condition. However, Ambrose said, "while Ferrell is convincing in his description of Eisenhower's heart and stomach problems, he does not convince me that the problems hampered Eisenhower's performance." Ambrose also felt that Ferrell's writings on the other six presidents covered little new ground, and that the book could have examined in more detail how the Twenty-fifth Amendment, which covers presidential disability, might have come into play. [15] Similarly, Kirkus Reviews called the sections on Kennedy, Reagan, and Bush "very brief and not well-substantiated", and complained that the focus on Eisenhower meant that the book could not "conclusively demonstrate" a wider pattern of cover-ups. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwight D. Eisenhower</span> President of the United States from 1953 to 1961

Dwight David Eisenhower, nicknamed Ike, was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe and achieved the five-star rank as General of the Army. Eisenhower planned and supervised two of the most consequential military campaigns of World War II: Operation Torch in the North Africa campaign in 1942–1943 and the invasion of Normandy in 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Morgenthau Jr.</span> American politician (1891–1967)

Henry Morgenthau Jr. was the United States Secretary of the Treasury during most of the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He played a major role in designing and financing the New Deal. After 1937, while still in charge of the Treasury, he played the central role in financing United States participation in World War II. He also played an increasingly major role in shaping foreign policy, especially with respect to Lend-Lease, support for China, helping Jewish refugees, and proposing measures to deindustrialise Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1952 Republican National Convention</span> Political convention

The 1952 Republican National Convention was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois from July 7 to 11, 1952, and nominated Dwight D. Eisenhower of New York, nicknamed "Ike", for president and Richard M. Nixon of California for vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Draft Eisenhower movement</span> Movement advocating Eisenhower for president

The Draft Eisenhower movement was a widespread political movement that eventually persuaded Dwight D. Eisenhower, former Chief of Staff of the United States Army, to contest the presidency of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower</span> U.S. presidential administration from 1953 to 1961

Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following his landslide victory over Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 presidential election. Four years later, in the 1956 presidential election, he defeated Stevenson again, to win re-election in a larger landslide. Eisenhower was limited to two terms and was succeeded by Democrat John F. Kennedy, who won the 1960 presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1944 Democratic National Convention</span> U.S. political event held in Chicago, Illinois

The 1944 Democratic National Convention was held at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois from July 19 to July 21, 1944. The convention resulted in the nomination of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented fourth term. Senator Harry S. Truman of Missouri was nominated for vice president. Including Roosevelt's nomination for the vice-presidency in 1920, it was the fifth time Roosevelt had been nominated on a national ticket. The keynote address was given by Governor Robert S. Kerr of Oklahoma, in which he "gave tribute to Roosevelt's war leadership and New Deal policies."

Robert Hugh Ferrell was an American historian. He authored more than 60 books on topics including the U.S. presidency, World War I, and U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy. One of the country's leading historians, Ferrell was widely considered the preeminent authority on the administration of Harry S. Truman, and also wrote books about half a dozen other 20th-century presidents. He was thought by many in the field to be the "dean of American diplomatic historians", a title he disavowed.

This bibliography of Harry S. Truman is a selective list of scholarly works about Harry S. Truman, the thirty-third president of the United States (1945–1953). See also the bibliographies at Harry S. Truman, Presidency of Harry S. Truman, and Foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency of Harry S. Truman</span> U.S. presidential administration from 1945 to 1953

Harry S. Truman's tenure as the 33rd president of the United States began on April 12, 1945, upon the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and ended on January 20, 1953. He had been vice president for only 82 days when he succeeded to the presidency. Truman, a Democrat from Missouri, ran for and won a full four-year term in the 1948 presidential election, in which he narrowly defeated Republican nominee Thomas E. Dewey and Dixiecrat nominee Strom Thurmond. Although exempted from the newly ratified Twenty-second Amendment, Truman did not run for a second full term in the 1952 presidential election because of his low popularity. He was succeeded by Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1952 Republican Party presidential primaries</span> Selection of Republican US presidential candidate

From March 11 to June 3, 1952, delegates were elected to the 1952 Republican National Convention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1944 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection</span>

The Democratic Party's 1944 nomination for Vice President of the United States was determined at the 1944 Democratic National Convention, on July 21, 1944. U.S. Senator Harry S. Truman from Missouri was nominated to be President Franklin D. Roosevelt's running-mate in his bid to be re-elected for a fourth term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physician to the President</span> Physician to the President of the United States

The physician to the president is the formal and official title of the physician who the president of the United States chooses to be their personal physician. Often, the physician to the president also serves as the director of the White House Medical Unit, a unit of the White House Military Office responsible for the medical needs of the president of the United States, vice president, White House staff, and visitors. The physician to the president is also the chief White House physician.

This bibliography of Dwight D. Eisenhower is a list of published works about Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States.

William Beatty Pickett is an American historian and professor emeritus at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. He is known as an authority on President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Indiana Senator Homer E. Capehart, and is the author of several well-regarded books on U.S. history including Dwight David Eisenhower and American Power and Eisenhower Decides To Run: Presidential Politics and Cold War Strategy.

<i>Harry S. Truman: A Life</i> 1994 book by historian Robert Hugh Ferrell

Harry S. Truman: A Life is a 1994 biography of Harry S. Truman, president of the United States from 1945 to 1953, by historian Robert Hugh Ferrell. Although it was overshadowed by the popular success of David McCullough's Pulitzer-winning biography Truman, Ferrell's book was widely praised by scholars in his field.

<i>Off the Record: The Private Papers of Harry S. Truman</i> 1980 book of Trumans writings edited by historian Robert Hugh Ferrell

Off the Record: The Private Papers of Harry S. Truman is a 1980 book edited by historian Robert Hugh Ferrell which collects writings and correspondence by Truman, the 33rd U.S. president, between 1945 and 1971. Historian Donald R. McCoy, writing in Presidential Studies Quarterly, called it a work of "great scholarly value … which is easily one of the most important and interesting books dealing with the recent Presidency published during the past decade."

<i>The Dying President</i> 1998 book by historian Robert Hugh Ferrell

The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944–1945 is a 1998 book by historian Robert Hugh Ferrell about the cardiovascular illness which Roosevelt suffered during the last year of his life and presidency. Ferrell examines the lengths to which the president and his medical advisers went to keep the public in the dark about the illness, as well as the political and diplomatic problems that arose both from the illness and the secrecy. He argues that Roosevelt was too sick to have remained in office, and that his inability to work led to critical foreign-policy mistakes in the closing year of World War II and a failure to properly prepare Harry S. Truman to take over as president after Roosevelt's death.

<i>Choosing Truman</i> 1994 book by historian Robert Hugh Ferrell

Choosing Truman: The Democratic Convention of 1944 is a 1994 book by historian Robert Hugh Ferrell about the political convention in Chicago which nominated Franklin D. Roosevelt for his fourth election to the U.S. presidency, but jettisoned Vice President Henry A. Wallace in favor of Missouri Sen. Harry S. Truman. The choice was particularly significant because Roosevelt would die in office the following year, making Truman the 33rd president.

The following is a list of works about the spouses of presidents of the United States. While this list is mainly about presidential spouses, administrations with a bachelor or widowed president have a section on the individual that filled the role of First Lady. The list includes books and journal articles written in English after c. 1900 as well as primary sources written by the individual themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis H. Bean</span> American economic and political analyst (1896–1994)

Louis Hyman Bean was an American economic and political analyst who predicted Harry S. Truman's victory in the 1948 presidential election.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Ferrell, Robert H. (1992). Ill-Advised: Presidential Health and Public Trust. University of Missouri Press. ISBN   978-0-8262-1065-4. LCCN   92018527.
  2. ↑ "Five myths on presidential health". Washington Post . 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Young, James Harvey (June 1993). "Review: Ill-Advised: Presidential Health and Public Trust by Robert H. Ferrell". Indiana Magazine of History . 89 (2): 165–66. JSTOR   27791671.
  4. ↑ Schudel, Matt (2018-08-23). "Robert H. Ferrell, presidential historian and Truman biographer, dies at 97". Washington Post . Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  5. 1 2 Sandomir, Richard (2018-08-22). "Robert H. Ferrell, Authority on Truman, Is Dead at 97". The New York Times . Retrieved 2018-08-23.
  6. ↑ Savage, Sean J. (Spring 1995). "Book Reviews: Harry S. Truman: A Life by Robert H. Ferrell". Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 93 (2): 244–245. JSTOR   23382654.
  7. 1 2 3 Kellerman, Barbara (Fall 1993). "Reviews: Robert H. Ferrell, Ill-Advised: Presidential Health and Public Trust; Robert E. Gilbert, Mortal Presidency: Illness and Anguish in the White House; Jerrold M. Post and Robert S. Robins, When Illness Strikes the Leader: The Dilemma of the Captive King". Presidential Studies Quarterly . 23 (4): 807–809. JSTOR   27551164.
  8. ↑ Hudson, Robert P. (Spring 1998). "Review: Eisenhower's Heart Attack: How Ike Beat Heart Disease and Held on to the Presidency by Clarence G. Lasby". Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 72 (1): 161–162. doi:10.1353/bhm.1998.0027. JSTOR   44451527. S2CID   70661570.
  9. ↑ "Review: Ill-Advised: Presidential Health and Public Trust". Kirkus Reviews. 1992-11-01. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
  10. 1 2 L'Etang, Hugh (February 1994). "Reviews: Ill-Advised: Presidential Health and Public Trust by Robert H. Ferrell and Mortal Presidency: Illness and Anguish in the White House by Robert E. Gilbert". Politics and the Life Sciences . 13 (1): 147–150. doi:10.1017/S0730938400022516. JSTOR   4236028. S2CID   251065027.
  11. ↑ Ferrell, Robert H. (1998). The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944-1945 . University of Missouri Press. ISBN   978-0-8262-1171-2. LCCN   97045797.
  12. ↑ Kallina Jr., Edmund F. (Summer 1999). "Review: The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944-1945". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 78 (1): 140–142. JSTOR   30150565.
  13. ↑ Abrams, Herbert L. (December 1993). "Review: Ill-Advised: Presidential Health and Public Trust by Robert H. Ferrell". Journal of American History . 80 (3): 1116–1117. doi:10.2307/2080508. JSTOR   2080508.
  14. ↑ Ambrose, Stephen E. (October 1993). "Review: Ill-Advised: Presidential Health and Public Trust by Robert H. Ferrell". American Historical Review . 98 (4): 1315. doi:10.2307/2166768. JSTOR   2166768.
  15. ↑ "Review: Ill-Advised: Presidential Health and Public Trust". Kirkus Reviews . 1992-11-01. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.