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If Truman hadn't recognized Israel, then the middle east would be a different dynamic today.if Reagan hadn't been so accommodating to Gorbachev then Soviet communism would have flourished longer than it did.if JFK hadn't taken a stance on Civil Rights then minorities today would still be somewhat suppressed. The idea of a study on Presidential courage is interesting and certainly worth exploring in a thoughtful literary context, but Michael Beschloss's effort here reeks of profit seeking as opposed to good history. It appears to me as though Beschloss hurried through this to publish something in support of the 2008 presidential election and by doing so has furthered his reputation (in my opinion) as an overrated and mediocre writer. The problem is that they are treated here with general broad-brushes and such lackluster writing that they all seem to be pigeonholed the same.the President had to take a huge moral and polictically damaging leap to decide on an outcome that had it not gone as it did would have had serious consequences and would have altered the world order as we know it today. I would recommend this to only the most general of reader. Authors such as Ron Chernow, Jean Edward Smith, Roger Angell, Stephen Sears, David McCullough and my new favorite Daniel Okrent are clearly multi-talented writers who project their subject with thoughtful analysis and amazingly lucid prose.although I haven't read all of Beschloss's work, the books that I have read are seemingly ordinary with routine research and pedestrian writing.
Instead, the reader (this reader anyway) is left unsatisfied and in many cases in search of much more in depth analysis outside of this work. I'm completely on board with the large percentage of reviewers here who criticize this book as lacking depth and substance. All relevant topics and worthy of study, but to catalogue these in one book under the auspices of major turning points in history requires a seriously talented writer who is adept at portraying the nuances, immediacy and potential consequences should they go awry.nowhere do we get this eloquence or analysis from Beschloss. This book is more of the same.The goal here was to analyze seminal moments in Presidential history where a wrong decision or different policy would result in a decidedly altered outcome, thus changing the world as we see it today. Beschloss's subjects have all had those moments and are worth analyzing.indeed entire books have been written on some of these moments. This could have been so much better.Presidential Courage lacks the standing to be an important historical work and if used, should be supplemented by other more important studies.
I found the narrative to be quite interesting and informative, and I thought that the author did a good job of showing American presidents at their finest. In this very interesting book, author and historian Michael R. I hope that presidents in the future continue to lead the nation, instead of just reading polls and following each change of public opinion.[By the way, a great book that goes into depth on Franklin Roosevelt's willingness to take the fight to America's unrecognized enemies is 0029012708 Hitler Versus Roosevelt: The Undeclared Naval War by Thomas A. Beschloss goes through the various times when American presidents had to make tough decisions, taking their reputations into their hands and doing what was best but perhaps not popular. Presidents are covered here from George Washington choosing to back the unpopular Jay Treaty, through Franklin Roosevelt's decision to help England when the country did not recognize an enemy that needed to be fought, and on to Ronald Reagan's decision to both challenge the Soviet Union (much to the Liberal's chagrin) and work towards a verifiable treaty with them (much to the Conservative's chagrin).Well, you can't please all of the people all of the time, but I must say that I was quite pleased with this book. Bailey and Paul B. Ryan].
As someone who went back and forth about purchasing this book I'm glad I did. You could relate with their struggles with their political enemies and their own demons. It wasn't at all dry which was my fear. The Presidents dating back to Washington were humanized. In all cases these men rose to the occassion. Perhaps in years to come we'll know that our current and more recent leaders did the same in giving their best.The Kennedy Effect
This book is about the bravery of the American Presidents from 1789 to 1989, and how they changed and shaped American policy. Why not up to the present day. It was more like self-preservation.
I liked the chapters on George Washington and Lincoln (probably because I have read their biographies), but wasn't captivated enough by the stories of the other presidents. Furthermore, the chapters are not broken down by the name of presidents, so it is difficult to use this book as a cross-reference.I would have liked to see chapters on Clinton and Bush junior. I didn't much enjoy reading this book.
I also didn't like the author's style of writing. I didn't find bravery in many of the stories. Some presidents did shape US policy, but that in itself is not bravery.
Why did the author choose presidents up to 1989 only. This book was after all published in 2007, so Clinton and Bush could have been included.
One aspect that I really like is the author makes links between past and present, e.g. This is an interesting review of some history. the grandson of a person in one administration turns up in the another president's administration.It is not dense history so a history-buff probably would find it too simple. Some of it was in high school textbooks but long forgotten. The author includes details that probably weren't in the textbooks. But for most of us, it is a quick read (short paragraphs) that is interesting. We can see how difficult governing really is.
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