White House Secrets: Medical Lies and Cover-Ups

by Gail Jarrow

Overview

Here are the shocking, yet true, stories of presidential medical cover-ups from the 19th to the 21st century—the latest thrilling title in award-winning author Gail Jarrow’s Medical Fiascoes series for readers ages 10 and up.

Did you know President Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralyzing stroke that his wife and doctors concealed for months? Or that Mrs. Wilson took total charge of his presidential duties? Neither did the American public. Did you know President John F. Kennedy suffered from Addison’s disease and was heavily medicated for years? Neither did most people. Too often when a president is sick or dying, he and the people around him have hidden his condition from the public, wanting to project an image of strength and power.

In this fascinating and provocative new installment in her acclaimed Medical Fiascoes series, author Gail Jarrow explores presidential cover-ups from the 19th to the 21st century—from James Garfield to Joe Biden. White House Secrets provides the historical context to help young readers understand issues of media literacy and presidential candor that are more relevant than ever in the 21st century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781662681035
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	09/30/2025
Series:	Medical Fiascoes
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	10 - 17 Years

About the Author

Gail Jarrow is the author of nonfiction books and novels for readers ages 8–18. Her nonfiction books have earned the Sibert Honor, the Orbis Pictus Honor, the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, YALSA Finalist, a Notable Social Studies Trade Book, Outstanding Science Trade Book, a NSTA Best STEM book, the Jefferson Cup Award, the Eureka! Gold Award, as well as Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and School Library Journal Best Books and VOYA Honor Book distinctions.

Read an Excerpt

WELCOME TO THE WHITE HOUSE

EIGHT UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS DIED IN OFFICE. MORE THAN A THIRD of the chief executives became seriously ill during their terms. Yet at times, Americans were deliberately kept in the dark about the health crisis in the White House. Lies were told. Cover-ups were orchestrated.

Some of these cases were medical fiascoes. A slow, painful death caused by outdated physician practices. A misdiagnosed condition that was incorrectly treated. An incapacitating stroke hidden from the cabinet and the public. A dying president campaigning for another term while the country was at war. The dangerous use of painkillers and pep pills by the world’s most powerful leader.

Disasters were narrowly averted. A secret surgery aboard a yacht. A concealed illness that almost set off a leadership crisis. Certain death prevented by a Secret Service agent’s quick thinking. A president’s attempt to run for reelection when many doubted that he could finish a second term.
In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the press rarely discussed the health of the president. Communication then was so slow that an ailing president likely recovered before the nation knew he’d been ill.

In those days, it wasn’t unusual for people—including presidents—to get sick. Pneumonia and tuberculosis killed millions. Deadly intestinal diseases like cholera, typhoid fever, and dysentery spread when human waste contaminated drinking water. Malaria and yellow fever afflicted those bitten by mosquitoes that bred in swamps and standing water. The dangerous childhood diseases diphtheria, measles, mumps, whooping cough, scarlet fever, and polio snuffed out the lives of the young before they made it to adulthood.

The medical community had little to offer a sick person. Doctor training was brief and superficial. Surgery was risky and often impossible to do without killing the patient. Remedies were typically ineffective. Treatments, such as bleeding, were harmful and weakened the victim. People either died quickly or recovered in spite of the doctor’s actions.

A patient’s chances didn’t improve until the end of the nineteenth century. By then, doctors and scientists understood that germs caused diseases. That breakthrough led to vaccines, including those that protected children from fatal illnesses. Physicians began following antiseptic procedures such as handwashing and using disinfecting chemicals.

Public health measures improved sewage disposal, provided clean drinking water, and drained swamps. Nutrition got better. New antibiotic medicines treated many infections. In 1900, the leading causes of American deaths were influenza, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and intestinal illnesses. But by 1950, the top killers were heart disease and cancer. This change was reflected in the ailments of the twentieth-century presidents.

As the federal government steadily grew in size and importance after the Civil War, so did the influence of the chief executive. A president’s health became a matter of great concern. News traveled faster through newspapers, telegraph, then radio, television, and eventually the internet. The public demanded to know details about the medical condition of its president. When this interest increased, lies about presidential illnesses did, too. The cover-ups had dramatic consequences for the nation. A few of the deceptions remained hidden for decades.

Here are the shocking true stories of these White House medical secrets.

Editorial Reviews

"The latest from Jarrow, an acclaimed author of nonfiction for young readers, unveils medical issues that have affected sitting presidents through the centuries. This work, a strong choice for young readers and adults alike, raises the question: What’s the best way to balance presidents’ right to medical privacy with their responsibility to govern the nation?... Each subject’s interesting, easy-to-read story appears in a stand-alone chapter of approximately 20 pages... Reveals secrets and raises timely, ethical questions worthy of vigorous discussion and debate."—Kirkus Reviews

"Well researched and succinctly written, each chapter tells a different tale based on secrets kept by presidents and those who wanted to protect them. An intriguing topic explored in compelling true stories and illustrated with period photos." —Booklist

From the Publisher