The DOI Reads Book Club

Due to a lapse in appropriated funding, the Department of the Interior Library is closed and all scheduled events are cancelled. Operations will resume once funding has been restored.

 

When:

Wednesday, December 3, 2025
12:30 PM  |  (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)  |  1 hour

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This WebEx service includes a feature that allows audio and any documents and other materials exchanged or viewed during the meeting to be recorded. By joining this meeting, you automatically consent to such recordings. If you do not consent to the recording, discuss your concerns with the meeting host prior to the start of the recording or do not join the meeting. Please note that any such recordings may be subject to discovery in the event of litigation.
 

Where:

Join from the meeting link:
https://usdeptoftheinteriorlibrary.my.webex.com/usdeptoftheinteriorlibrary.my/j.php?MTID=m72a7eaaf3fdba3abddcb65f01beed4a2

Join by meeting number
Meeting number (access code): 2557 887 1968
Meeting password: Jv8b2TQmZn2

Join from a mobile device (attendees only)
+1-408-418-9388,,25578871968## United States Toll

Join by phone
+1-408-418-9388 United States Toll

Join from a video system or application
Dial 25578871968@webex.com
You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number.

Need help? Go to https://help.webex.com
 

The DOI Reads Book Club will again be meeting virtually on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, from 12:30 to 1:30 pm ET to discuss our next Book Club selection, Life After Power: Seven Presidents and Their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House by Jared Cohen.

As always, all are welcome and you don't need to finish the book to join us. Just bring your questions, insights and thoughts about this book.

Advance RSVPs are very welcome, but all are encouraged to come regardless. To RSVP or for more information about the DOI Reads Book Club and other DOI Library programs and events, please contact the library staff via email (library@ios.doi.gov) or phone at 202-208-5815. 

At the time of the program please join from the meeting link above to view the webinar. To join our audio via phone you will also need to dial into the Audio Connection, using the phone number listed. If prompted for an access code, please enter 2557 887 1968.

The DOI Library does not have enough copies to lend this book to everyone, so please purchase a copy or borrow one from your local library. Copies are available from online booksellers.

Life After Power: Seven Presidents and Their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House

Author: Jared Cohen
Publisher‏: ‎ Simon & Schuster (February 2024)
Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook or Kindle: ‎512 pages
ISBN-10 ‏: ‎ 1982154543
ISBN-13 ‏: ‎ 978-1982154547

Former presidents have an unusual place in American life. King George III believed that George Washington’s departure after two terms made him “the greatest character of the age.” But Alexander Hamilton worried former presidents might “[wander] among the people like ghosts.” They were both right.

Life After Power tells the stories of seven former presidents, from the Founding to today. Each changed history. Each offered lessons about how to decide what to do in the next chapter of life.

Thomas Jefferson was the first former president to accomplish great things after the White House, shaping public debates and founding the University of Virginia, an accomplishment he included on his tombstone, unlike his presidency. John Quincy Adams served in Congress and became a leading abolitionist, passing the torch to Abraham Lincoln. Grover Cleveland was the first president in American history to serve a nonconsecutive term. William Howard Taft became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Herbert Hoover shaped the modern conservative movement, led relief efforts after World War II, reorganized the executive branch, and reconciled John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Jimmy Carter had the longest post-presidency in American history, advancing humanitarian causes, human rights, and peace. George W. Bush made a clean break from politics, bringing back George Washington’s precedent, and reminding the public that the institution of the presidency is bigger than any person.

-- from Amazon

 

Was this page helpful?

Please provide a comment