Free Delivery Over $100
|
|
|||
|
||||
Awards
Overview"Since World War II, the United States has been engaged in near-constant military conflict abroad, often with ill-defined objectives, ineffectual strategy, and uncertain benefits. In this era of limited congressional oversight and ""wars of choice,"" the executive and the armed services have shared the primary responsibility for making war. The negotiations between presidents and their generals thus grow ever more significant, and understanding them becomes essential. Matthew Moten traces a sweeping history of the evolving roles of civilian and military leaders in conducting war, demonstrating how war strategy and national security policy shifted as political and military institutions developed, and how they were shaped by leaders' personalities. Early presidents established the principle of military subordination to civil government, and from the Civil War to World War II the president's role as commander-in-chief solidified, with an increasingly professionalized military offering its counsel. But General Douglas MacArthur's insubordination to President Harry Truman during the Korean War put political-military tensions on public view. Subsequent presidents selected generals who would ally themselves with administration priorities. Military commanders in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan did just that-and the results were poorly conceived policy and badly executed strategy. The most effective historical collaborations between presidents and their generals were built on mutual respect for military expertise and civilian authority, and a willingness to negotiate with candor and competence. Upon these foundations, future soldiers and statesmen can ensure effective decision-making in the event of war and bring us closer to the possibility of peace." Full Product DetailsAuthor: Matthew MotenPublisher: Harvard University Press Imprint: The Belknap Press Dimensions: Width: 15.60cm , Height: 3.50cm , Length: 23.50cm Weight: 0.798kg ISBN: 9780674058149ISBN 10: 0674058143 Pages: 456 Publication Date: 06 October 2014 Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General , Tertiary & Higher Education Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsReviewsIn Presidents and Their Generals, Matthew Moten sets out to provide an episodic history of what he calls American political military relations, by which he means the relationship between military leaders and their civilian overseers. He succeeds admirably, jumping from the Revolution through the War of 1812 to the Civil War, the two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, the 1991 Gulf War, and the Iraq war. This book is well done: Well considered, well structured, and well written. Moten, a former head of West Point s history department, is a clear and pleasant writer, with an assured style. He favors making bold statements and then backing them up with persuasive analyses Moten is sophisticated in his political analysis in a way that academics sometimes are not The most surprising thing about this book may be that no one seems to have written one like it until now. Moten has stepped up and filled the gap impressively.--Thomas E. Ricks Journal of Military History (01/01/2015) A new and welcome exploration of the often fraught interactions between political and military authority in the United States from the Revolution to the present . Moten makes clear that all was not orderly in the councils of national defense during the last two centuries, and that they are likely to grow even more contentious in the future.--Roger J. Spiller, author of In the School of War Author InformationMatthew Moten, former Head of the Department of History at the United States Military Academy at West Point, is a writer living in Austin, Texas. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
||||
