Description
Book SynopsisFully revised and featuring an examination of how each of the presidents learned from history and juggled the demands on diplomacy, this comparative study of presidential war-making elucidates how effective executive leadership-or its absence-directly affects the outcome of wars.
Trade Review"Hess's writing is clear, each chapter is sharply focused, and his comparisons are deft, all of which we have a right to expect from an historian of his stature." - International History Review "This book admirably introduces an historical cross-analysis that allows some assessment of US leadership during these critical times." - Virginia Quarterly Review "A solid work... Hess has packaged three historical vignettes in a thorough, concise, and readable primer on wartime presidential leadership." - Historian"
Table of ContentsSeries Editor's Foreword
Preface to the Second Edition
Introduction: Presidential Leadership and International Crises
1. Harry S. Truman and the Korean Crisis: "We can't let the U.N. down"
2. Harry S. Truman as Commander in Chief: Decision by Indecision
3. Lyndon B. Johnson and the Vietnam Crisis: "America keeps her word"
4. Lyndon B. Johnson as Commander in Chief: The Strategy of Wishful Thinking
5. George H. W. Bush and the Persian Gulf Crisis: "This aggression will not stand"
6. George H. W. Bush as Commander in Chief: The Imperatives of Coalition Warfare
7. George W. Bush and the Second Crisis with Iraq: "Time is not on our side"
8. George W. Bush as Commander in Chief: History Overpowers Ideology
Conclusion: Four Presidents and Their Wars
Bibliographical Essay
Index
