read if you like:
📚 historical non-fiction
🇺🇸 US history
🪖 war history

summary:
I have a soft spot for US history, so when I got the chance to review this book, I jumped on it. It tells the story of the involvement of seven U.S. presidents — Eisenhower, JFK, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Reagan and H.W. Bush through the lens of their involvement in World War 2, and how the roles they played influenced their politics for years to come.

The book is written chronologically, integrating in each president as their involvement in the war begins, and going back and forth on how their experiences shaped the war, and themselves. It goes deep into many of their involvements, which I found fascinating, as I don’t feel like you read a lot about individual presidents involvement in war as a serviceman. While I knew the story of JFK from living in Boston, many of the others were new to me. It also touches on where some of these men knew each other or how they interacted before their days in politics, which I found fascinating, just given the fact that we often don’t talk about them in groups but rather focus on their individual achievements. Thinking on it now, our last 3 (I think) presidents did not serve in a war, and it’s so interesting how earlier in the century, it was uncommon to be in politics without that background, and how critical that experience was in shaping their policies and relationships.

During a time of such turmoil, I found it comforting to read about a time when decisions were made based on facts and first hand experiences, rather than rhetoric or lies.

Thanks to the Penguin Group, Dutton and NetGalley for the copy to review. If you love US history, I recommend checking this book out today!

I thought this was an interesting read on various presidents through a specific lens. I've read a great deal about FDR and WWII, so it was nice to get a glimpse at how other presidents handled different types of wars. I thought the author did a good job of shedding some light onto Nixon's political maneuverings and how they impacted the war efforts in 1968. The look at Reagan is also interesting because Reagan just made up stories for political expediency, but then believed his own storytelling. The idea that he convinced himself that he saw the concentration camps is wild. This book is a great way to examine how WWII continued to shape the policies of the U.S. long after its conclusion.

This was an interesting read. The Subtitle is an accurate description of the book. It covers each of the Presidents careers during World War II and how that helped to shape some of the decisions they made in the White House. The nature of the book leaves out lots of other information about each President that can be found in several other more detailed biographies. this will be an enjoyable read for those who are interested in the lives of our Presidents and what caused them to make some of their decisions.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.

Thank you, Penguin Group Dutton, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I just finished Presidents At War: How World War II Shaped A Generation of President, From Eisenhower And JFK Through Reagan And Bush.

This book will be published on February 11, 2025.

This is the fourth book that I have read by this author. I previously gave The Pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich And The Rivalry That Defined A Generation a B+ in 2011, Pearl Harbor: FDR Leads The Nation Into War a B in 2022 and read The Kennedy Assassination—24 Hours Later: Lyndon B. Johnson’s Pivotal First Day As President in 2010, but that was before I started giving grades.

This was an enjoyable read about the presidents from Eisenhower to Bush’s actions during WW II and then their political careers. I just didn’t see much of connecting the two. But, it was still informative, and interesting, enough to warrant a high grade.

Among the many interesting topics in the book was the president/VP relationships between Eisenhower/Nixon and Johnson/Kennedy, along with the Kennedy/Nixon rivalry, Kennedy’s plans and evolution prior to his assassination, how Reagan used the slogan “make America great again” before Trump and Reagan’s “talent” for just making up stories and using them for political gain.

However, one flaw in the book was the author repeating the myth that Nixon didn’t challenge the results of the 1960 election. There were challenges in 11 states. Nixon claimed he had nothing to do with it, just like Trump disavows Project 2025, but his campaign staff was involved in the challenges and nobody believed Nixon’s disavowal. This is one mistake that I will point out whenever I see it, and this book can’t be an exception. But, speaking of Nixon, one of the strong points of the book was its discussion of Nixon’s treason by sabotaging Johnson’s peace efforts at the end of the 1968 campaign.

I give this book an A. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

I finished reading this on October 27, 2024.