Command of Office: How War, Secrecy, and Deception Transformed the Presidency, from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush [Paperback]

Stephen Graubard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 16, 2006

Command of Office reveals the remarkable-and dangerous-concentration of power in the American presidency over the course of the twentieth century, told through incisive analyses of the eighteen men who have held the office and the events that shaped their presidencies. Stephen Graubard tracks the steady expansion of secrecy as a tool of presidential authority, one that inevitably diminished the power of the other two branches of government. Widely esteemed by his fellow historians and with unique access to former members of both Republican and Democratic administrations, Graubard has written a masterful history of presidential power-essential reading for anyone concerned with American politics.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 20th-century presidency can be defined by its growing accretion of power, argues Graubard, longtime Daedalus editor and Brown University historian emeritus. America's then controversial, presidentially led interventions in WWI and WWII required new extensions of the office's powers; the Cold War era of "permanent" Soviet threat and Vietnam-related secrecy amplified them; and Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, he says, added spin and deception to the mix. George W. Bush thus assumed an office whose powers are exponentially greater than anything envisioned by the Founding Fathers, subject to correspondingly limited checks and balances. The result, according to Graubard, is a White House increasingly sealed off from the public its occupant ostensibly serves. In acerbic, elegantly written critiques of successive administrations, he depicts presidencies that are increasingly responsive primarily to their particular internal dynamic. The chapter on Clinton (titled "The Rake's Progress") is a particularly effective analysis of a chief executive who "looked for new maps but never found them." George W. Bush is characterized as a poseur whose combination of hubris and ignorance may have done lasting damage to the U.S. at home and abroad. While readers may challenge his interpretations, Graubard's America, transformed by the "kings, courtiers, and warriors" of its 20th-century executive branch, merits wide and careful attention.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"You've kept us busy this week and given us a great deal of enjoyment with your nominations of the one book you would like the next president to read... Here, for what it's worth, is one more suggestion-- mine: Command of Office: How War, Secrecy and Deception Transformed the Presidency from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush." the author is Stephen Graubard. As a much younger man he was invited by Eleanor Roosevelt to F.D.R.'s wartime inauguration in 1945. Ever since, he has watched the presidency evolve with greater and greater authority and less and less regard for the checks and balances that sustain democracy. The next occupant of the White House can't read this without weighing how much more war, secrecy, and taste for empire America can tolerate." -- Bill Moyers --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 744 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (January 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 046502758X
• ISBN-13: 978-0465027583
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,551,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Epic Scale, Powerful Tale, December 28, 2004

By 

Jeremy D. Mayer (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Command Of Office: How War, Secrecy and Deception Transformed the Presidency, from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush (Hardcover)

Graubard has much to teach us that even the most careful observer of the American presidency may have missed. His analysis is always original, and while on first read some of his interpretations of specific presidents or events may strike some readers as odd,further into a chapter, you usually find yourself nodding your head.
I found particular value in his discussion of the lesser known 20th Century presidents, such as Taft, Harding, and Coolidge.

Highly recommended for students of history, the presidency, or American politics.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too much Machiavelli, March 13, 2005

By 

John C. Landon "nemonemini" (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Command Of Office: How War, Secrecy and Deception Transformed the Presidency, from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush (Hardcover)

This is a unique history of the twentieth century presidency. The author plays no favorites, and the rogue's gallery in the lineup is comprehensive. Although the effect of the world wars on the presidency is decisive, the story really begins with the assassination of McKinley and the subsequent era of T. Roosevelt, the beginnings of empire and globalization. Thence to Clinton and George W. Bush the acerbic account continues, and it is the very considerable increments of telling detail that makes the book work, and the altered perspective on standard accounts refreshingly bleached. We get so much hagiographic flak that we lose sight of the mediocrities, failures, and lost opportunities of the White House occupants, who are too often ill-prepared to do the job right. Too much of the history here is passed over. This book throws out a lot of hype, and might seem too much were it not good reading, and profitable at that. One's view of American presidents won't be same ever again.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Epic Presidential History, January 7, 2006

By 

D. Andrews "Tampa Dave" (Tampa, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Command Of Office: How War, Secrecy and Deception Transformed the Presidency, from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush (Hardcover)

Though an avid reader, it is not often that I find a thick historical tome a "can't put down." This marvelous work, dense and thought-provoking, gives the reader a view into the presidencies of the 20th century. Even just the trivia you may pick up from this book is an enormous asset: (what 2 presidents died of natural causes and what two were assassinated in each of the last 2 centuries?) During what periods of American history did presidents tend to serve only one term? How many fingers does it take to count all the "honest" presidents in the 20th century?)

This is a must-read for anyone wanting a grasp of how we got to where we are today.