Contains fifteen stories, excerpted from previously published books and magazines, that describe the actions of thirteen American presidents in times of crisis.

"Ten years in the research and writing, [this book] is a ... look at a procession of American leaders as they took the nation into conflict and mobilized their country for victory. It brings us into the room as they make the most difficult decisions that face any President, at times sending hundreds of thousands of American men and women to their deaths. From James Madison and the War of 1812 to recent times, we see them struggling with Congress,...