"Dale Herspring's new book provides a reassessment of a key relationship in American government and foreign policy making." "From World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom, Herspring clearly shows how the nature of civilian control has changed during the past half century. He also reveals how the military has become a powerful bureaucratic interest group very much like others in Washington - increasingly politicized, media-savvy, and as much accountable to Congress as to the commander-in-chief." "Ultimately, The Pentagon and the Presidency illuminates how our leaders devise strategies for dealing with threats to our national security - and how the success of that process depends so much upon who's in charge and how that person is perceived by our military commanders."--Jacket.

Some copies are University Press of Kansas, 2005 paperback, xiii, 490 p., ill., 23 cm.

The military, the president, and civil-military relations -- The military and Franklin Roosevelt -- The military and Harry Truman -- The military and Dwight Eisenhower -- The military and John F. Kennedy -- The military and Lyndon Johnson -- The military and Richard Nixon -- The military and Gerald Ford -- The military and Jimmy Carter -- The military and Ronald Reagan -- The military and George Bush -- The military and William Clinton -- The military and George W. Bush.