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Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency And The National Security State (1979)

by Garry Wills(Favorite Author)

3.85 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1594202400 (ISBN13: 9781594202407)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Penguin Press HC, The

review 1: This is a must read; especially as we approach the 2016 presidential election. Wills makes a compelling argument as to how the atomic bomb transformed our government by vastly increasing the power of the presidency - to a level that is downright frightening, as well as illegal (well, if you believe the Constitution is the founding document upon which our nation is based). We have allowed a veil of secrecy (an iron curtain, perhaps) to drape our government and its actions - in the name of "security." But, I am not so sure that we are any safer. In fact, I doubt it. This is because we perceive ourselves to be constantly at war - no matter the enemy - and many of our civil liberties have been eroded if not snatched away. Yikes.In a historian side note, I appreciate that Wills... more compares American imperialism to that of the Venetians.
review 2: Brief, thorough, well researched, potent, articulate and alarming. It is astounding to read how much power has been ceded to the President over the last 60 years. Wills makes an excellent and compelling argument that the advent of nuclear weapons has accelerated the push toward the executive branch becoming the locus of power in the United States rather than Congress. It is astonishing to read how little oversight there is on the President, and how effectively the President is able to act on their own, without oversight, and to even keep their actions from not only the public, but the rest of the government as well. It is unfortunate thought not surprising that Obama has continued this trend and refused to surrender some of this unconstitutional authority. 06/05/10 less

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