Selling War in a Media Age

“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 campaign for war in Iraq in 2003 drew attention to the ways in which an American president may try to “sell” a war. Of course, Bush was not the first to use his position and propaganda in this way, as the essays in this standout volume detail. Preeminent scholars in the field share their insight in this impressive collection.

Chapters by Paul S. Boyer, Lloyd Gardner, George C. Herring, Robert J. McMahon, Chester Pach, Emily S. Rosenberg, Robert D. Schulzinger, Mark A. Stoler, and Marilyn B. Young enrich this comprehensive and enlightening work. From the Spanish-American War to the War on Terror, each chapter in Selling War in a Media Age explains how modern presidents have influenced, coerced, directed, and led public opinion over matters of war and peace since 1898. While some essays highlight the systematic efforts by American presidents to gain public support for war and international conflict, many more reveal that there were limits to what presidential persuasion could accomplish.