"From a preeminent presidential historian comes a groundbreaking and often surprising saga of America's wartime chief executives. Ten years in the research and writing, Presidents of War is a fresh, magisterial, intimate look at a procession of American leaders as they took the nation into conflict and mobilized their country for victory. It brings us into the room as they make the most difficult decisions that face any President, at times sending...

This meticulously researched account of assaults on democracy by five presidents who imprisoned critics, spread a culture of white supremacy and committed crimes with impunity shows how citizens like Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells and Daniel Ellsberg fought back against presidential abuses of power. "In this propulsive and eminently readable history, constitutional law and political science professor Corey Brettschneider provides a thoroughly researched...

Evaluates Lincoln's talents as a commander in chief in spite of limited military experience, tracing the ways in which he worked with, or against, his senior commanders to defeat the Confederacy and reshape the presidential role.

From Washington to Jefferson, Lincoln to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Kennedy to Nixon, Reagan to Obama and Biden, the 45 United States presidents have left lasting impacts on our nation. Some of their legacies continue today, some are justly forgotten, and some have changed as America has changed. Whether famous, infamous, or obscure, all the presidents shaped our nation in unexpected ways. The authors' extensive research has uncovered never before...

The president's ability to issue executive orders is a process steeped in misconceptions. This must-have volume looks at the history of this important executive power, explains executive orders that have had wide-ranging effects, and demonstrates the legal limits of the president's power. With emphases on checks and balances put in place by the U.S. Constitution and responses from Congress and the Supreme Court to past executive orders, the book covers...

"How Donald Trump has reshaped the norms of the American presidency"--

"Although congressional investigations have provided some of the most dramatic moments in American political history, they have often been dismissed as mere political theater. But these investigations are far more than grandstanding. Investigating the President shows that congressional investigations are a powerful tool for members of Congress to counter presidential aggrandizement. By shining a light on alleged executive wrongdoing, investigations...

"A thought provoking and penetrating account of the post-Cold war follies and delusions that culminated in the age of Donald Trump, from the bestselling author of The Limits of Power. When the Cold War ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Washington establishment felt it had prevailed in a world-historical struggle. Our side had won, a verdict that was both decisive and irreversible. For the world's 'indispensable nation, ' its 'sole superpower,...

"This informative book gives early readers an introduction to the United States Presidency"--

"Imagine you have just been elected president. You are now commander-in-chief, chief executive, chief diplomat, chief legislator, chief of party, chief voice of the people, first responder, chief priest, and world leader. You're expected to fulfill your campaign promises, but you're also expected to solve the urgent crises of the day. What's on your to-do list? Where would you even start? The American presidency is in trouble. It has become overburdened,...