Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage FROM OUR EDITORS
As an adviser to presidents Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson, Fox News Channel host Chris Wallace witnessed situations in which White House officials struggled with difficult decisions. In Character, he shows how throughout American history, our presidents have responded courageously to moments of crisis. Wallace examines nearly 20 acts of presidential courage, from George Washington's response to the Whiskey Rebellion to George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq. In each case, the humanity behind the momentous decision is explored.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
With the Narrative Flair of David McCullough (John Adams, Truman), the scope of Joseph J. Ellis (Founding Brothers), and the pure scholarship of Walter Isaacson (Benjamin Franklin), Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace pens an enthralling history for all those tired of presidential politics as usual. Throughout America's past, Presidents have faced difficult choices -- decisions that have had grave political and personal consequences. Will leadership prevail? Or will the office cede power to popular opinion? At these critical times, many of our Presidents have chosen a path of genuine courage. They stood up for what they believed was right for the country, showing the tremendous character which made them leaders of men.
Chris Wallace has chosen sixteen notable acts of presidential courage in our nation's history, including: George Washington and the Whiskey Rebellion, Theodore Roosevelt and the Russo-Japanese War, Harry Truman and the Berlin Airlift, and Ronald Reagan's peace initiative with the Soviets.
How and why did these men choose the hard way? What experiences from their civilian lives came to bear on their decisions? What gave them their inner fortitude? Wallace captures the humanity of these leaders and lets their personal histories shine through. The result is a riveting and informative look at the Presidents who have made defining choices for our nation in times of uncertainty. A must read for every citizen who has lost faith in the executive branch of our government -- a captivating narrative of courage and determination in our nation's presidential history.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
The author, host of Fox News Sunday and former White House correspondent for NBC News, considers 16 examples of what he refers to as presidential "character" but which are really examples of political "courage" (as the subtitle suggests). Wallace looks at such acts of courage as the President defying advice or popular opinion and doing what he believed to be the right thing. Dividing his work into four sections ("Internal Strife," Executive Action," "The Map of Peace," and "Against the Enemy"), he uses a flowing style and sweeping approach, skating quickly over his examples and giving readers an outline only of the circumstances confronting each President and the decisions made. Wallace displays a presidentialist bias, often discounting the cautions or alternatives offered by the President's critics and even seeming to dismiss out of hand advice from members of Congress, staff, and citizens. At times, what Wallace calls courage may just as easily be pigheadedness, abuse of power, or folly. An optional purchase.-Michael A. Genovese, Loyola Marymount Univ., Los Angeles Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
AUTHOR DESCRIPTION
Chris Wallace is the host of Fox News Sunday, the Fox broadcasting network's Sunday morning public affairs program. He also contributes to the network's political and election news coverage. Wallace joined the network in 2003.
Before joining Fox News, Wallace worked at ABC for fifteen years, where he served as the senior correspondent for Primetime Thursday and as a substitute host for Nightline. During his tenure with ABC News, Wallace hosted multiple groundbreaking investigations and received numerous awards for his work, which includes the Dupont-Columbia Award-winning probe of the Associates, Ford Motor Company's finance department that allegedly practiced predatory lending.
Prior to joining ABC News, Wallace was with NBC News, where he served as the chief White House correspondent from 1982 to 1989. While at NBC, he covered the 1980, 1984, and 1988 presidential campaigns as well as the Democratic and Republican conventions in those years. Wallace also anchored Meet the Press from 1987 to 1988 and anchored the Sunday edition of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 1984 and 1986 to 1987. He joined NBC as a reporter with WNBC-TV in New York City in 1975.
Wallace has won every major broadcast news award for his reporting, including three Emmy Awards, the Dupont-Columbia Silver Baton, and the Peabody Award.
Home
