On July 1, 1893, President Grover Cleveland boarded a friend’s yacht, sailed into the waters of Long Island Sound, and disappeared. What happened was so incredible that, even when the truth was finally revealed, many Americans would not believe it.

Author Matthew Algeo discusses his new book The President Is a Sick Man, the first full account of what transpired on that yacht as a team of doctors removed a cancerous tumor from the president’s mouth along with much of his upper jaw. Cleveland denied the surgery, and the public sided with the president. It was not until 24 years later that Cleveland’s doctors revealed the truth. Algeo is the author of Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure.