"This excellent book is required reading for anyone interested in how American presidents have tried to sell war."--Steven Casey, author of Selling the Korean War

"This is American history at its best--insightful and revealing about the past, yet at the same time illuminating the vital questions of our own day."--Jeffrey A. Engel, Texas A&M University

George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" banner in 2003 and the misleading linkages of Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 terrorist attacks awoke many Americans to the techniques used by the White House to put the country on a war footing. Yet Bush was simply following in the footsteps of his predecessors, as the essays in this standout volume reveal in illuminating detail.
Written in a lively and accessible style, Selling War in a Media Age is a fascinating, thought-provoking, must-read volume that reveals the often-brutal ways that the goal of influencing public opinion has shaped how American presidents have approached the most momentous duty of their office: waging war.


Kenneth Osgood, associate professor of history at Florida Atlantic University, is the author of Total Cold War: Eisenhower's Secret Propaganda Battle at Home and Abroad, winner of the Herbert Hoover Book Award. Andrew K. Frank, associate professor of history at Florida State University, is the author of Creeks and Southerners: Biculturalism on the Early American Frontier.
 
A volume in the Alan B. Larkin Series on the American Presidency

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"Combines a thoughtful review of the literature with reasoned conclusions by authors from a variety of institutions. . . . Reminds us of the need to place research in a larger, interdisciplinary context, particularly in the larger arena of public policy and the presidency."
--American Journalism

Will unquestionably be a valuable resource for communication scholars, political scientists, and historians exploring the myriad ways in which U.S. presidents during the past hundred years have sought to influence, with varying degrees of success, public attitudes toward a host of military activities. All of the essays in this volume marshal considerable historical acumen, many with fascinating analytical insight to the strategies and media modern U.S. presidents have negotiated when attempting to adjust ideas about war in particular rhetorical situations.
--Rhetoric & Public Affairs Vol 14, No. 1

"Provides a good overview of the rhetoric of war in the twentieth century."
--Journal of American History

A strong collection of essays that moves through the 20th century to explore how presidents have tried to manage their public relations.
--Quest: The History of Spaceflight