Presidents of War: The Epic Story, from 1807 to Modern TimesNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From a preeminent presidential historian comes a “superb and important” (The New York Times Book Review) saga of America’s wartime chief executives “Fascinating and heartbreaking . . . timely . . . Beschloss’s broad scope lets you draw important crosscutting lessons about presidential leadership.”—Bill Gates Widely acclaimed and ten years in the making, Michael Beschloss’s Presidents of War is an intimate and irresistibly readable chronicle of the Chief Executives who took the United States into conflict and mobilized it for victory. From the War of 1812 to Vietnam, we see these leaders considering the difficult decision to send hundreds of thousands of Americans to their deaths; struggling with Congress, the courts, the press, and antiwar protesters; seeking comfort from their spouses and friends; and dropping to their knees in prayer. Through Beschloss’s interviews with surviving participants and findings in original letters and once-classified national security documents, we come to understand how these Presidents were able to withstand the pressures of war—or were broken by them. Presidents of War combines this sense of immediacy with the overarching context of two centuries of American history, traveling from the time of our Founders, who tried to constrain presidential power, to our modern day, when a single leader has the potential to launch nuclear weapons that can destroy much of the human race. Praise for Presidents of War "A marvelous narrative. . . . As Beschloss explains, the greatest wartime presidents successfully leaven military action with moral concerns. . . . Beschloss’s writing is clean and concise, and he admirably draws upon new documents. Some of the more titillating tidbits in the book are in the footnotes. . . . There are fascinating nuggets on virtually every page of Presidents of War. It is a superb and important book, superbly rendered.”—Jay Winik, The New York Times Book Review "Sparkle and bite. . . . Valuable and engrossing study of how our chief executives have discharged the most significant of all their duties. . . . Excellent. . . . A fluent narrative that covers two centuries of national conflict.” —Richard Snow, The Wall Street Journal |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - scottjpearson - LibraryThingWhen I studied the US Constitution for the first time in the late 1990s as a high-school student, I noticed that it gave Congress, not the Presidency, the responsibility of declaring war. This seemed ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - Schmerguls - LibraryThing5630. Presidents at War, by Michael Beschloss (read 31 May 2019) This is a 2018 book studying the actions of American presidents in regard to entry into war, It shows that Madison allowed himself to ... Read full review
Contents
MAN OF STRAW | 37 |
THE MOST GLORIOUS WAR | 64 |
THE COUNTRY IS NOW WIRTUALLY OURS | 97 |
A PRESIDENTIAL WAR | 121 |
FORT SUMTER | 157 |
BLOOD FLOWING ALL ABOUT ME | 196 |
MAINE BLOWN U P | 240 |
WE MUST KEEP WHAT WE WANT | 264 |
HOW COULD THIS THING HAPPEN | 359 |
THE SURVIVAL WAR | 392 |
I AM GOING TO LET THEM HAVE IT | 435 |
I DONT ASK THEIR PERMISSION | 461 |
WE GOT SLAPPED | 492 |
I DO NOT HAVE A PARACHUTE | 523 |
EPILOGUE | 581 |
PHOTO CREDITS | 697 |
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Abraham Lincoln Acheson American Anderson Army Arthur Schlesinger asked attack Barron Battle Beschloss bombing British Burlingame called campaign Chesapeake chief Civil command conflict Congress Congressman Cuba Dallek Democratic Detzer Dolley Dolley Madison Eisenhower Eleanor election enemy Federalist fight force Fort Sumter Franklin Franklin Roosevelt German Henry HSTL insisted James Japanese Jean Smith Jefferson JKPP John Cooper Johnson July June Kennedy knew Korea later LBJL LBJT Lyndon Johnson MacArthur Madison McKinley McNamara Mexican Mexico military nation naval Navy never Nixon North peace Pearl Harbor political Polk diary Polk's President's replied reported Republican Robert Robert Kennedy Roosevelt Secretary Senate Sept ship Sigsbee soldiers South South Vietnam speech Sumter Texas tion treaty troops Truman Union United University Press Vietnam vote warned Washington Whig White House William Wilson Woodrow Wilson wrote York Zimmermann telegram
Bibliographic information
| Title | Presidents of War: The Epic Story, from 1807 to Modern Times |
| Author | Michael Beschloss |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Crown, 2018 |
| ISBN | 0804137013, 9780804137010 |
| Length | 752 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / Military / United States History / Wars & Conflicts / General Political Science / American Government / Executive Branch |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |