Elusive victories [[electronic resource] ] : the American presidency at war / / Andrew J. Polsky

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910779020003321
• Autore: Polsky Andrew Joseph
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: New York, : Oxford University Press, 2012
• ISBN: 0-19-994281-1; 0-19-025264-2; 1-280-59583-3; 9786613625663; 0-19-986094-7
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (454 p.)
• Disciplina: 352.23/5
• Soggetti: Presidents - United States - History; War and emergency powers - United States - History; War and emergency powers - United States
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Introduction -- Lincoln casts a shadow -- A war to transform the world: Woodrow Wilson -- Freedom of action: Franklin Roosevelt -- Staying the course: Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon -- The perils of optimism: George W. Bush -- Inheriting a bad hand: Barack Obama -- Conclusion: past and future.
• Sommario/riassunto: On April 4, 1864, Abraham Lincoln made a shocking admission about his presidency during the Civil War. ""I claim not to have controlled events,"" he wrote in a letter, ""but confess plainly that events have controlled me."" Lincoln's words carry an invaluable lesson for wartime presidents, writes Andrew J. Polsky in this seminal book. As Polsky shows, when commanders-in-chief do try to control wartime events, more often than not they fail utterly.In Elusive Victories, Polsky provides a fascinating study of six wartime presidents, drawing larger lessons about the limits of the power of the Whit