About the Author

Author Mark K. Updegrove was born outside of Philadelphia in 1961. He attended high school in Newtown, PA and received a BA in Economics from the University of Maryland. Updegrove started his career as a marketing associate for the Book of the Month Club in New York. From there he began working for Time, Inc where he worked for twelve years, the last ten of which were spent at TIME magazine.During his tenure at Time, Inc., Updegrove served as the Los Angeles manager of TIME magazine, and president of TIME Canada. While at TIME, Updegrove conceived “TIME and the Presidency,” a traveling exhibit consisting of photographs of all the U.S. presidents from FDR to Clinton, as well as reflections on each of the men by TIME’s legendary senior editor, Hugh Sidey. The exhibit was featured at a number of the presidential libraries and included opening night events with Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, and James Baker. Updegrove also has had the pleasure of hosting dinners for Mikhail and Riasa Gorbachev, on the occasion of Gorbachev’s 68th birthday; Gerald Ford, celebrating the 23rd anniversary of his inauguration as president; and Ronald Reagan, celebrating the 19th anniversary of his election as president. In 2001 Updegrove accepted the position of publisher at Newsweek in New York, where he remained until 2002. He currently is an executive at Yahoo! based in Toronto. Updegrove married his wife, Evelyn, in 1993 and they have two children, Charlie and Sallie. They currently live in Rye, NY and plan to move to Toronto this summer.

Reviews

"Mark K. Updegrove's Second Acts is a smart and provocative look at the most exclusive club in America - ex-presidents. Highly recommended!"
--Douglas Brinkley, Professor of History and Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Center at Tulane University
"Former presidents have been likened to Cinderella after the ball. In this intimate, often surprising group portrait, Mark Updegrove reveals how our ex-presidents since Truman have dealt with the loss of power that is their pumpkin. From Ike struggling to master the intricacies of the dial tone, to LBJ raging like Lear on the Perdenales [River], to Jimmy Carter, the Extra President--Updegrove gives us riveting history by twilight. His evening stars cast a memorable glow."--Richard Norton Smith, president historian, Scholar in Residence, George Mason University "Mark Updegrove's Second Acts is a fascinating read about a subject that has been neglected for too long. It is history at its best; a well researched and well told narrative that illuminates the recent past in surprisingly unexpected ways. Filled with wit as well as wisdom, Second Acts is a delight."--Don Carleton, Director, University of Texas Center for American History ..."lively accounts....This engrossing book [is] Highly recommended for public libraries."--"Library Journal" ..."for those interested in the former presidents, this popular history will do the trick."-- "Publishers Weekly""" ..."revealing in detail and context"--"Kirkus Reviews"