Presidents of War

By: Michael Beschloss

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

Length: 26 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller

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 10 years in the making, Michael Beschloss’ 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’ 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)

©2018 Michael Beschloss (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"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

Brilliant historical work

Thanks Mr Beschloss!
Your brilliantly researched and detailed historical work is a must read. The quotes alone are worth the read.
I would love to hear you read it, BTW.
Many thanks, Mr. Beschloss

A great book for any American History buff

A very interesting review of the motivations and competency of American Presidents handling war and undeclared conflict back to the birth of our nation.

a very interesting and compelling listen..

Truman's Korean war experience is talked about quite a bit, but his taking over WW2 after the death of FDR is not covered. I would have liked to have heard that story even though it only took place over the span of a few months.

An Amazing Book about a very Important Subject!!

A great survey of WH management of wars. It is a recommended read/listen for any serious student of the military and political history of the world, not just the US.

Very good

They did a good job with details without making it 200 hours long or skimming

Love it

Very simple and very educated thank you Michael Beschloss buy this book good listen. Genius

If you love history

This well researched book is what you’d expect from a preeminent historian like Beschloss. Listen and learn.

One disappointment

I greatly enjoyed and learned from this book. Beschloss has become an historian on my radar; however, there was nothing about Truman’s decision to drop the bomb. WTF?!

Extremely ambitious and It Accomplished its Goals

it is hard to believe that I just finished a book of such breadth and relatively substantial depth. Kudosvto Beschloss for having the stamina and vision to even undertake such a work.

So what did I learn? Politics and politicians are messy and when you are the boss, critics are a dime a dozen . . . and should often be listened to. Obviously, war is a horrible undertaking and it is amazing how frequently it takes on a life of its own. Of all the tragedies, Vietnam is the most painful. Practicallt every motherf**ker responsible knew from the earliest moments that it was a mistake, we were lilely backing the wrong side and that it was unwinable through ground conbat. Anyway, that is a tangent. Most interesting was the intimate sense Beschloss gives of being in the room and head of the decisionmakers throughout our history post-Washington. Much food for thought on decisionmaking and leadership.

War

The background of War from 1812 onward explains how presidential powers came about and vest in executive branch of government.