Mark K. Updegrove

The award-wining author of Second Acts and The Last Republicans draws on interviews and conversations with seven presidents to identify the essence of character, leadership and legacy that has defined each of them and the modern American presidency.Throughout his career as an author, journalist, television commentator, and head of a presidential library and foundation, Mark Updegrove has had the privilege of getting to know seven U.S. Presidents, from Gerald Ford to Barack Obama. In Make Your Mark, he offers incisive, compelling sketches of these modern presidents and the character trait that made each suited to his moment in the Oval Office and underlies his most significant accomplishments.Gerald Ford’s instinct to do the right thing in the wake of Watergate;Jimmy Carter’s mission to do good in the areas of peace and human rights during his presidency and throughout his post-presidency;Ronald Reagan’s optimism, restoring the nation’s confidence and pride after a sustained period of demoralizing national setbacks;George H.W. Bush’s humility, helping to ensure a peaceful end to the Cold War that had seethed between the superpowers for over forty years;Bill Clinton’s resilience and determination to keep working for the good of the American people in the face of political and personal obstacles;George W. Bush’s charge to give back as the deadly AIDS epidemic spread unchecked throughout much of the developing world;and Barack Obama’s grace as the first African American to hold the country’s highest office. Make Your Mark reveals that there is no one-size-fits-all model for leadership. We all have our own set of strengths and weaknesses. But drawing on these presidential examples, we can ask ourselves how our character reflects our leadership, and be inspired to find the very best in who we are to make own unique marks as leaders.

A groundbreaking look at the lives of George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, the most consequential father-son pair in American history, often in their own words. In this revealing, often poignant work, presidential historian Mark K. Updegrove tracks the two Bush presidents from their formative years through their post-presidencies and the failed presidential candidacy of Jeb Bush, derailing the Bush presidential dynasty. Drawing extensively on exclusive access and interviews with both Bush presidents, Updegrove reveals for the first time their influences and perspectives on each other’s presidencies; their views on family, public service, and America’s role in the world; and their unvarnished thoughts on Donald Trump and the radical transformation of the Republican Party he now leads.In 2016 George W. Bush lamented privately that he might be “the last Republican president.” Donald Trump’s election marked the end not only to the Bushes’ hold on the White House, but of a rejection of the Republican principles of civility and international engagement and leadership that the Bushes have long championed.The Last Republicans offers illuminating, moving portraits of the forty-first and forty-third presidents, as well as an elegy for the Republican “establishment,” which once stood for putting the interests of the nation over those of any single man.

An historian's revealing and intimate portrait of George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush that explores their relationship as presidents and as father and son-the first major biographical treatment of these two consequential presidents and figures in American history. In 2016 the Republican base revolted against the GOP establishment that has become synonymous with the Bush name, choosing instead a political neophyte and anti-establishment outsider as the standard bearer of their party. Donald Trump's election marked the end not only of a presidential dynasty, but a rejection of the Republican principles and traditions the Bushes have long championed. Despite the Republicans' surprise victory in 2016, behind closed doors the party remains divided between traditional conservatives, populists, and radical ideologues, and faces an uncertain future. As presidential historian Mark K. Updegrove argues, Bush 41 and 43 are in effect, the "last Republicans." In this balanced, illuminating book, Updegrove tells the story of the Bushes' relationship from the birth of George W. through their post-presidential years and Jeb Bush's failed candidacy. Drawing on exclusive access and interviews with both presidents and the key people in their lives, Updegrove reveals the Bushes' views on the current state of the nation and the GOP, and how the party they both led and helped build is undergoing a radical transformation. At last, the famously circumspect Bushes offer unvarnished observations and revelations on everything from George W. Bush's youthful indiscretions to the influence and perspectives they had on each other's administration to their views on Donald Trump-and how they each voted in the 2016 election. A candid and often surprising portrait of two men, The Last Republicans is also an elegy for the party of Reagan and Bush-and for the many thoughtful and prudent individuals who made up the "establishment," and are conspicuously lacking in today's GOP. The Last Republicans contains 16 pages of black-and-white photographs.

When former president Lyndon B. Johnson opened the LBJ Presidential Library in May 1971, he proclaimed, “It’s all here, the story of our time-with the bark off.” Accordingly, he wanted his library to reflect not only the triumphs of his administration, but the failures, too-and he wanted us to learn from them to build a better future for our country.In keeping with President Johnson’s vision, the LBJ Library took a substantive, unvarnished look at the Vietnam War, with the goal to shed new light on the war and the lessons it provides. The passage of years offers greater perspective on the complexities of a war that altered not only our history but our perception of ourselves as a nation.The result was the Vietnam War Summit, an intensive three-day conference in April 2016 that brought together policy makers, scholars, reporters, photographers, musicians, and importantly, those who were on the front lines of the war and the antiwar movement. In conjunction with the conference, the library displayed a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Twice each day during the summit, ceremonies recognized Vietnam War veterans.A War Remembered features photographs and documentation from the Vietnam War Summit, but also includes a number of historic photographs from both the LBJ Library and the Briscoe Center for American History, offering a diverse perspective on the conflict that defined a generation.

President Lyndon B. Johnson played a monumental role in America's quest for civil rights. The legacy of those efforts reached a crescendo from April 8 through 10, 2014, as the LBJ Presidential Library hosted a historic Civil Rights Summit to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. A host of luminaries—including President Barack Obama, the first African American to hold the nation's highest office, and former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter—came to the LBJ Library to recognize the progress made in the country's long, often troubled, journey toward civil rights."We are not caretakers of the past," LBJ said as president, "but are charged with the construction of tomorrow." Accordingly, he wanted his presidential library to be a "springboard to the future," a place that would be not only a repository of things past, but a forum to explore the issues of our day. In that spirit, Destiny of Democracy reflects on Johnson's legacy of civil rights and commemorates the historic summit. Heroes of the civil rights movement shared the summit's spotlight with those who are making a difference today. The three former presidents and President Obama also weighed in, each praising the courage and conviction manifested by Johnson in carrying out his civil rights agenda, but also warning that while the laws he brought to bear are in place, there is still work to be done.