Arthur M. Schlesinger

War and the American Presidency

The Bush Doctrine in foreign policy and what it means for American democracy.

The gravest decision in a democracy is the one to go to war. In a book that brings a magisterial command of history to the most urgent of contemporary questions, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., explores the war in Iraq, the presidency, and the future of democracy.

Describing unilateralism as "the oldest doctrine in American history," Schlesinger nevertheless warns of the dangers posed by the fatal turn in U.S. policy from deterrence and containment to preventive war. He writes powerfully about George W. Bush's expansion of presidential power and the revived Imperial Presidency (a phrase Schlesinger invented). He reminds us of our country's distinguished legacy of patriotism through dissent in wartime, calling on us to honor that tradition even in the face of our need for security. And he reminds us of the inscrutability of history.

War and the American Presidency shines an essential light on the meaning of our history and a guide for using our understanding responsibly in meeting today's challenges.