January 28, 2025

#170: Steve Gillon - "Presidents at War: How World War II Shaped a Generation of Presidents, from Eisenhower and JFK through Reagan and Bush"

1 hour

Nearly eighty million were killed. Seventy countries were involed. Two nuclear bombs were dropped. The world was reshaped in its aftermath. World War II wasn't just an event in the lives of seven future presidents, it was the event. Steven Gillon argues seven future presidents were changed irrevocably by what they’d experienced from the moment Pearl Harbor was attacked to the moment millions of soldiers came back to the United States. They had seen death, lost friends and feared for their own lives. World War II would shape their politics and policy. He argues that even privileged men - like JFK and George HW Bush - insisted on going to combat because they could sense it would make or break their future. And they were right.

Steven Gillon's website can be found at https://www.stevenmgillon.com/

Information on his book can be found at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/646653/presidents-at-war-by-steven-m-gillon/#:~:text=A%20nuanced%20and%20deeply%20researched,and%20future%2C%20presidents%20stand%20today.

Support our show at https://patreon.com/axelbankhistory

**A portion of every contribution is given to a charity for children's literacy**

"Axelbank Reports History and Today" can be found on social media at

https://twitter.com/axelbankhistory

https://instagram.com/axelbankhistory

https://facebook.com/axelbankhistory