ISBN:
0307409600
Title: Presidents of War Pdf
Author: Michael Beschloss
Published Date: 2018-10-09
Page: 752
A New York Times Bestseller"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 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“Sweeping. . . . A significant feat of historical synthesis. Beschloss is a deft researcher and a first-rate storyteller. . . . A deep history of how chief executives since the early 19th century have waged war under confused circumstances and often with secret motives. . . . Beschloss’s section on Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam is particularly fresh and enlightening. . . . His war leadership was even more anguished, impoverished and ill-conceived than had been previously known. . . . 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"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“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"The renowned historian explores America's wars through its presidents. In another masterful work of research, Beschloss demonstrates his erudite grasp of the history of the executive branch. The Founders gave Congress the power to “declare” (not make) war; the executive has power only to repel attacks….As he clearly shows throughout this illuminating narrative, during every war, the president has received extraordinary powers; some used it well, while others abused it. The author's highly readable style and ability to pinpoint the most relevant facts make this a perfect book for any student of American history and its presidents." —Kirkus (starred review)"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 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. He is on Twitter at @BeschlossDC.
From a preeminent presidential historian comes a groundbreaking and often surprising saga of America’s wartime chief executives
Ten years in the research and writing, Presidents of War is a fresh, magisterial, intimate look at a procession of American leaders as they took the nation into conflict and mobilized their country for victory. It brings us into the room as they make the most difficult decisions that face any President, at times sending hundreds of thousands of American men and women to their deaths.
From James Madison and the War of 1812 to recent times, we see them struggling with Congress, the courts, the press, their own advisors and antiwar protesters; seeking comfort from their spouses, families and friends; and dropping to their knees in prayer. We come to understand how these Presidents were able to withstand the pressures of war—both physically and emotionally—or were broken by them.
Beschloss’s interviews with surviving participants in the drama and his findings in original letters, diaries, once-classified national security documents, and other sources help him to tell this story in a way it has not been told before. Presidents of War combines the sense of being there with the overarching context of two centuries of American history. This important book shows how far we have traveled 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.
Making War Historian and media personality Michael Beschloss has written an important history of how and why presidents took us to war and of their wartime decision making process from Madison to Johnson. He is at is best in discussing the role of Lyndon Johnson during the Vietnam War. His “tick-tock” of how the Gulf of Tonkin resolution came to be is worth the price of the book. He is very clear that the Johnson administration was deceitful from Day One when they knew in their heart of hearts the war wasn’t winnable. Where I would fault him is that he does not lay enough of a predicate as to the role of John Kennedy in the lead up to the war. After all Johnson was continuing Kennedy’s very aggressive policy with respect to Vietnam.Beschloss opens his book at the end of the Jefferson administration in 1807 and then fully discusses Madison’s role in the War of 1812. To me he is not critical enough of Madison and Jefferson. In my mind both were guilty of dereliction of duty in failing to maintain adequate naval strength while both Britain and France were raiding our ships and impressing our seaman. They both, having witnessed the Seven Years War that a generalized European conflict would sooner or later make its appearance in the Americas. Although England was not directly threatening the U.S., Madison was egged on by the “war hawks” Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun to declare war. Be that as it may for the young trading nation that the U.S. was, the principle of freedom of the seas was worth going to war over.He next is very critical of James K. Polk. To be sure Polk created an incident to trigger the Mexican War and lied to the American people about it, but to my mind Polk was the Bismarck of North America. Polk had the strategic vision that a war with Mexico would bring with it the entire southwest as well as California. He was fulfilling “manifest destiny,” a term that came into use during his administration. But before Polk could go to war with Mexico he had to settle up the Oregon dispute with Great Britain, which he did. Polk was smart enough to realize that U.S. could not fight a two front war against both Mexico and Britain.Lincoln, of course, comes across as the great Civil War leader that he was. He does this not only by ultimate success on the battlefield, but by elevating the purpose of the war to give rise to “a new birth of freedom.” Unlike other presidents Lincoln was able to witness and agonize over battlefield casualties he was also able to be decisive. Where I would be critical of Beschloss is that while the fighting was going on Lincoln pushed through Congress three great Hamiltonian projects, the Homestead Act, the Pacific Railway Act and the Morrill Act(land grant colleges), quite a domestic program. This distinguishes Lincoln from other presidents, where domestic engagements gave way to wartime exigencies.Beschloss is kind to McKinley. After the sinking of the Maine (an accident) in Havana Harbor, he does not rush into war. However once engaged McKinley becomes an all-in imperialist by taking the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico. Intended or not with the Spanish American War the U.S. enter the world stage.Beschloss likes Wilsonian policies, but he doesn’t seem to like Woodrow Wilson. He comes across as an arrogant intellectual and where Wilson demonstrated great political acumen in passing his domestic program, he is a complete disaster on the world stage. Wilson’s thought process on entering the war is a “theme park” (my words) for executive indecision. In his discussion of Wilson, Beschloss leaves out a lot. He ignores the role of the March Revolution in Russia that made it easier for Wilson to argue that he was “making the world safe for democracy.” He also ignores the challenge that Lenin brings with the November Revolution. Many historians believe that his 14 Points were a response to Lenin. He also only skims through the wave of domestic repression that took place during the war and immediately thereafter. And he ignores Wilson’s hidden agenda, which he accomplished, of orchestrating the transfer of economic power from London to New York.Roosevelt, on the other hand learns from Wilson’s mistakes. Instead of trying to keep the U.S. out of the Second World War, he molds public opinion into acceptance of the inevitability of a war against fascism. He also brings the Republicans on board, both before and after, something Wilson refused to do. Roosevelt learned what not to do when he was an assistant secretary of the navy in the Wilson Administration. He also brings in the American people, with his fireside chats, into the vast theater of the global war.Truman does not come off well. He doesn’t bring Congress into the process and that with hostile opposition from the likes of Taft and McCarthy leads to huge problems when the Korean War stalemates on the battlefield. After he rightfully fires General MacArthur his popularity plummets. It is a sad ending for someone who so clearly understood the Soviet menace in the late 1940s to see him so pilloried.As I said at the outset Beschloss has written an important book, but as I noted he left out quite a bit and in many cases, especially with the earlier presidents he was way too detailed and the average lay reader will likely get bogged down in the weeds. Hence four stars, not five.Very well written, moving narrative The author brings us into the White House to watch each of the presidents who presided over Americas wars as they struggle with managing their wars. What we learned in history classes in high school really cleaned up these president's handling of war. War is a messy thing at best, and acting as commander in chief during wars is almost beyond human abilities. The story of the war presidents we lived through is especially emotional to read. Don't expect this book to arouse your patriotism. This is a large book, which takes a long time to read, even when you don't read the many foot notes, but well worth the effort.The Imperial Presidency Goes to War In 1973 Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote “The Imperial Presidency” The Imperial Presidencyand described the situation that we have today, between a Presidency with an ever-increasing power, and a Congress that is incapable of fulfilling its function under the Constitution. Almost fifty years later the situation has become far worse; as is recounted in this very upsetting book.Even the title of Michael Beschloss’ new book seems to reflect the aggrandizing of power by the Executive Branch. The author argues that the president is ‘human’ influenced by the family, friends, and advisors that surround him.Beschloss makes a real attempt to be a true historian; and says that the events of 2001 and after are so recent that they can only be discussed synoptically. He uses his analytic skills only for the preceding two centuries. The Constitution reflected the belief that the founders had that European monarchs abused their absolute authority to make war. Because of this; Congress was given the sole power to declare war. This belief used to be firmly entranced in the American system, as shown by Abraham Lincoln’s 1848 comment: ‘“No one man should hold he power” to take the nation into war.’ Yet, over the last 200 years presidents have disrupted the founder’s plan and usurped this power. Beschloss feels that we now have wars waged solely on their power as our ineffective legislature acquiesces to the whims of the Chief Executive.This volume has outstanding footnotes, chapter notes and bibliography
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