Michael Beschloss is the author of nine books on presidential history, including, most recently, the New York Times bestsellers Presidential Courage and The Conquerors, as well as two volumes on Lyndon Johnson’s White House tapes. He was also editor of the number-one global bestseller Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy. He is the NBC News Presidential Historian and a PBS NewsHour contributor and has received an Emmy and six honorary degrees.
"In this brilliant work, Michael Beschloss burnishes his already
bright reputation. He tells a gripping tale of courage and
mendacity as well as recurring defiance of the constitutional
requirement to seek congressional approval for making war. A
monumental and profoundly important achievement.”—Ron Chernow,
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Grant
“A deep history of how chief executives since the early nineteenth
century have waged war . . . Most of the wars described here were
grounded in deception and, arguably, were unjust wars of choice.
Beschloss drives this point home in his disquieting
study.” —Matthew Dallek, The Washington Post
“Beschloss’s broad scope lets you draw important cross-cutting
lessons about presidential leadership. . . . Presidents of
War is worth reading, whether you are one of the nation’s
leaders or just an armchair historian.”—Bill Gates
“Conflict and war played an essential role in the accumulation of
presidential power, as Michael Beschloss explains in his
magisterial book. . . . Presidents of War, 10 years in
the making, is on an epic scale. It looks at leadership from
every angle: communication, the critical relationship with
Congress, the treatment of civil liberties and the role of the
(often formidable) presidential spouse.”—Lionel
Barber, Financial Times
“In this monumental book, the incomparable Michael Beschloss tells
the riveting story of how, through history, our Presidents came to
be so powerful and to lead Americans into waging major wars. With
his new research discoveries and unerring eye for human detail,
Beschloss has brought us an unforgettable
narrative. Presidents of War is a landmark book about
power, leadership and human nature itself.”—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer
Prize-winning author of The Soul of America
“Once again, Beschloss captures our Presidents in terms both
historic and human, showing that whoever holds the office will
fearlessly—or fearfully—impact our world.”—Tom Hanks, author of
Uncommon Type
“Michael Beschloss guides us on a fascinating and sobering journey
from the War of 1812 to the present, illuminating a steady
expansion in presidential war powers and consequent abandonment of
the constitutional restraints the Founders crafted to prevent
despotism. It is a powerful and troubling story, essential
reading for our time.” —Drew Gilpin Faust, author of This
Republic of Suffering, President Emerita and Lincoln Professor of
History, Harvard University
"There is no more serious task a President can undertake than
leading our nation in war time. With Presidents of
War, Michael Beschloss, our leading historian of the American
presidency, presents a deeply researched and elegantly written
chronicle of how presidents from the early nineteenth century
through modern time have handled this most daunting and important
responsibility. Revealing both the high points and the low, and
using newly available material, Beschloss tells us much we did not
know about important events and gives a different perspective on
things we thought we knew." —Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer
Prize-winning author of The Hemingses of Monticello and
Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History, Harvard Law
School
"With his historian’s eye for the telling detail and a novelist’s
appreciation for the quirks and crotchets of individual
personalities, Michael Beschloss has crafted a sweeping chronicle
of presidential war-making from the birth of the republic to the
twenty-first century. Throughout this compelling story runs a
question of ever-more clamorous urgency: have the Constitutional
safeguards against war as the dread spawn of presidential ambition,
whim, or ignorance been eroded to the point of irrelevance in our
own day?"—David M. Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of
Freedom from Fear and Professor of History Emeritus, Stanford
University
"Beschloss offers a sweeping history of American presidents
seeking and waging war. . . . He provides
insight into the motivations of American
leaders; presidents’ battles with other branches of
government; their degree of respect for civil liberties; and the
role of personality, emotion, and the general political climate as
American commanders-in-chief executed the power of the country’s
military forces. . . . Ample detail and enticing
storytelling.”—Publishers Weekly
“This spirited account, reminiscent of The Oxford History of
the United States, will captivate history buffs and interest
scholars of the institutional presidency and the
Constitution.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“Exceptional storytelling. . . . Beschloss sweeps across more than
160 years, delving into presidential decision-making in eight wars
from the early 19th century to Vietnam. Along the way, he
paints rich portraits of Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and
other larger-than-life leaders whose choices determined the fates
of millions and redirected the flow of history.”—Mark Atwood
Lawrence, The Boston Globe
"Filled with fascinating insights. . . . A compelling work on the
necessary qualities and dangers for wartime presidents."—Albert R.
Hunt, Bloomberg
“Beschloss sounds the alarm about the president’s power to drag the
nation into war. . . . Well-crafted. . . . Excellent.”—NPR
“A fascinating look at US presidential history and how leaders from
James Madison to present times have dealt with the pressures and
difficult decisions of war.”—The New York Post
"A monumental cautionary tale. . . . Vividly
written, Presidents of War is a sobering and timely look
at our commander-in-chief’s awesome war-making powers, and how
those powers can so easily circumvent our
Constitution.” —Chris Patsielis, Philadelphia
Inquirer
Ask a Question About this Product More... |