Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to the Present

New and updated in paperback--the remarkable history of American presidential executive power from one of today's most famous legal scholars. ..".an eloquent, fact-laden history of audacious power grabs by American presidents going back to George Washington." -- New York Times Magazine However bitter, complex, and urgent today's controversies over executive power may be, John Yoo reminds us that they are nothing new. In Crisis and Command, Yoo explores a factor too little consulted in current debates: the past. Through shrewd and lucid analysis, he shows how the bold decisions made by Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, and FDR changed more than just history--they transformed the role of the American president. The paperback edition of Crisis and Command features a new preface and epilogue by the author, giving the most up-to-the-minute insight into the ongoing national debate over presidential power. Written in clear, accessible prose, Crisis and Command maintains a manageable scope by focusing on the strongest and most relevant examples throughout history, from George Washington to Barack Obama.

About the Author :
John Yoo is a professor of law at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law, where he has taught since 1993. From 2001-2003, he served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on issues involving foreign affairs, national security, and the separation of powers. He served as general counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee from 1995-96, where he advised on constitutional issues and judicial nominations. Professor Yoo received his B.A., summa cum laude, in American history from Harvard University and his J.D. from Yale Law School. He was a visiting professor at the University of Chicago Law School in 2003 and at the Free University of Amsterdam in 1998. In 2006, Professor Yoo held the Distinguished Fulbright Chair in Law at the University of Trento (Italy). Professor Yoo has published many articles on foreign affairs, national security, and constitutional law. He is the author of "The Powers of War and Peace: Foreign Affairs and the Constitution after 9/11 "(University of Chicago Press, 2005) and "War by Other Means: An Insider's Account of the War on Terror "(Atlantic Monthly Press, 2006). "Crisis and Command" completes his trilogy on the controversies provoked by the September 11th attacks of 2001.

Review :
.".".an eloquent, fact-laden history of audacious power grabs by American presidents going back to George Washington."" -- "New York Times Magazine " ""Yoo is not content to merely argue that the president has the constitutional right to assume vast powers during times of crisis. He further insists that it is in the nation's interest that the president, and the president alone, do so."" -- "San Francisco Chronicle " .".".Yoo recognizes Madison's truth, for he acknowledges 'the importance of practice as a source of constitutional meaning, ' and he devotes most of his book to analyzing presidential practice and the steady growth of presidential power over the course of American history."" -- "The New Republic " ""Crisis and Command is a carefully argued historical survey of the evolution of presidential power, particularly the power to make war. The book reveals how the Bush war on terror, far from overstepping constitutional bounds, was rooted in a tradition that reaches back to George Washington himself."" - "Wall Street Journal " .".".rollicking and thoroughly researched brief..."" -- "New York Times Book Review " .".".Yoo's robust view of presidential power is well-known, any history of the presidency written by him might initially seem suspect and agenda driven. He realizes only too well that his book is apt to be read ""as a brief for the Bush administration's exercise of executive authority in the war on terrorism."" But if it is a brief for an expansive understanding of presidential authority, it is a remarkably persuasive one."" --"The National Interest" ""Those who know John Yoo only from the caricature painted by his critics will be gobsmacked to read "Crisis and Command." It is not the work of some wild-eyed zealot bent on waging war on our civil liberties. Rather it is a careful, scholarly examination of the subject of presidential powers viewed through the pri .".".an eloquent, fact-laden history of audacious power grabs by American presidents going back to George Washington."" -- "New York Times Magazine " ""Yoo is not content to merely argue that the president has the constitutional right to assume vast powers during times of crisis. He further insists that it is in the nation's interest that the president, and the president alone, do so."" -- "San Francisco Chronicle " .".".Yoo recognizes Madison's truth, for he acknowledges 'the importance of practice as a source of constitutional meaning, ' and he devotes most of his book to analyzing presidential practice and the steady growth of presidential power over the course of American history."" -- "The New Republic " ""Crisis and Command is a carefully argued historical survey of the evolution of presidential power, particularly the power to make war. The book reveals how the Bush war on terror, far from overstepping constitutional bounds, was rooted in a tradition that reaches back to George Washington himself."" - "Wall Street Journal " .".".rollicking and thoroughly researched brief..."" -- "New York Times Book Review " .".".Yoo's robust view of presidential power is well-known, any history of the presidency written by him might initially seem suspect and agenda driven. He realizes only too well that his book is apt to be read ""as a brief for the Bush administration's exercise of executive authority in the war on terrorism."" But if it is a brief for an expansive understanding of presidential authority, it is a remarkably persuasive one."" --"The National Interest" ""Those who know John Yoo only from the caricature painted by his critics will be gobsmacked to read "Crisis and Command." It is not the work of some wild-eyed zealot bent on waging war on our civil liberties. Rather it is a careful, scholarly examination of the subject of presidential powers viewed through the prism of history. By focusing on how presidents from G