The President Is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth

The President is a Sick Man by Matthew Algeo has been on my reading list since early summer - I finally had a chance to read it over the Christmas holidays and am happy to report that I much enjoyed it. The extent of my knowledge about Grover Cleveland prior to reading this book was that he is the only man to be elected to the office of president twice, in non-consecutive terms. I was unaware that he was renowned for his honesty to such an extent that he was known for having once said, "tell the truth," which struck the citizenry as completely remarkable. (And says something about how little we have progressed in the last century, as least as regards the trustworthiness of our politicians.)

So, here's the deal: Grover Cleveland discovers a rough spot on the roof of his mouth. Ultimately, it needs to be removed, but at the height of the then-worst depression in the country's history, all parties are concerned that news of the president's health crisis may accelerate the tailspin. Thus, the operation must be top secret, especially as the doctors believe Cleveland to have a cancer of the mouth (this at a time when the word "cancer" is rarely uttered aloud - for more on that, check out The Emperor of All Maladies). Also the public is especially spooked by cancer of the mouth, as that is the form of the disease to which General-cum-President Grant has recently succumbed.

At just over 225 pages, this is a quick read about an almost unknown episode in the presidency of a little remembered president. It is also a book that will cause most readers to consider not only how medicine has changed (which is obvious), but how our thinking about medicine and illness has changed - as well as how the expectation of privacy, particularly for public figures, such as the president - has been reshaped by this thinking and by technology. There are probably few readers out there who will want to add The President is a Sick Man to their "must read" list, but those who do read it should come away with a better sense of President Cleveland, and perhaps even of the Gilded Age.