Presidents of War

My goodness.  This book is more like an entire volume condensed into one giant interwoven narrative.  Which, if we’re being honest, is exactly what it was designed to be.  Presidents of War tells us the stories, many of then new (to me), of how United States Presidents have been drawn into wars, how they dealt with those wars and what ultimately happened within the context of history.  Very fascinating and was a great book to wet my appetite to learn more.  Clocking in at 752 pages, it’s a very long read. However – America has been in many wars, so the long narrative makes sense.  The author, Michael Beschloss, does a good job of spending equal time on each war, more or less.  Which was a bit frustrating since I wanted to hear more about certain Presidents than others, but I took the mindset that it was good for me.  And again, to be fair, there have been many books that cover those single events and this book is just to give the highlights of each President/war. 

If you enjoy US history, specifically Presidential history, then you’ll enjoy this book.  Be prepared to spend a lot of time on it and prepare to come away with more topics you want to explore even further.

C. L.