Waubonsee Community College

Commander in chief, how Truman, Johnson, and Bush turned a presidential power into a threat to America's future, Geoffrey Perret

eng

Includes bibliographical references (p. [393]-416) and index

contains biographical information

platesillustrations

index present

non fiction

Commander in chief

bibliography

65644335

Geoffrey Perret

how Truman, Johnson, and Bush turned a presidential power into a threat to America's future

This is a story of ever-expanding presidential powers in an age of unwinnable wars. Harry Truman and Korea, Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam, George W. Bush and Iraq: three presidents, three ever broader interpretations of the commander-in-chief clause of the Constitution, three unwinnable wars, and three presidential secrets. Presidential biographer and military historian Perret places these men and events in the larger context of the post-World War II world to establish their collective legacy: a presidency so powerful it undermines the checks and balances built into the Constitution, thereby creating a permanent threat to the Constitution itself. Since World War II wars have become tests of stamina rather than strength, and more likely than not they sow the seeds of future wars--yet recent American presidents have chosen to place their country in the forefront of fighting them.--From publisher description