This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.

In times of crisis, how have America’s commanders in chief guided the country through conflict to victory?

In his new book, Presidents of War, presidential historian Michael Beschloss takes us behind the scenes and into the room with American presidents. Beschloss illustrates scenes in striking detail, portraying how presidents have had to make difficult decisions, sometimes sending hundreds of thousands of men and women to their deaths. From James Madison and the War of 1812 to the recent times, Beschloss describes how presidents struggled with Congress, the courts, the press, their own advisors and antiwar protesters. 

Come learn and understand how these presidents were able to withstand the pressures of war—both physically and emotionally—or were broken by them. Beschloss will discuss how far we have traveled from the time of our founders, who tried to restrain presidential power, to the modern day, when a single leader has the potential to launch nuclear weapons that could destroy much of the human race.