Presidential Retreats: Where the Presidents Went and Why They Went There
Like Kenneth Walsh’s From Mount Vernon to Crawford (2005), this tome dwells where U.S. presidents dwelt whenever they escaped from the capital, at their getaway places. Hannaford describes the refuges of every chief executive and supplies information for touring them if they are open to the public; not all are. The first purpose-built retreat, Hannaford explains, was Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Grove, a place to which he traveled to avoid Monticello’s visitors. This was the pattern for the first century of presidents. They would repair to home in their native states. Lincoln, though, was an exception; he found a country cottage near Washington (see Lincoln’s Sanctuary, by Matthew Pinsker, 2003). After the Civil War, Long Branch, New Jersey, attracted half-a-dozen presidents to its seaside breezes. With Herbert Hoover, presidential vacation spots became a perk of office. He built the first official haven, which FDR didn’t like, so he built the place Ike later renamed Camp David. With summaries of each president’s incumbency, Hannaford’s work may most interest readers inclined to visit a presidential home or vacation place. --Gilbert Taylor