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.