John Owen, University of Virginia, author of The Clash of Ideas in World Politics:
Structuralists take note: With an admirably simple theory, sound case selection, meticulous process tracing, and judicious treatment of alternative explanations, Elizabeth N. Saunders makes what may be the strongest case to date that individual leaders really do affect international relations in predictable ways. The implications extend far beyond the academy—to the White House and indeed the voting booth.
Mark Lawrence, University of Texas at Austin, author of The Vietnam War: A Concise International History:
In this fascinating book, Elizabeth N. Saunders offers new insight on matters of momentous contemporary importance. But she does so with remarkable sensitivity to the complexities of the historical record, showing how past U.S. presidents have gone about intervening overseas. As convincing as it is deftly written and deeply researched, Leaders at War deserves the careful attention of anyone interested in understanding how the United States uses its power abroad.
Richard H. Immerman, Professor and Edward J. Buthusiem Family Distinguished Faculty Fellow in History and Marvin Wachman Director, Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy, Temple University:
Elizabeth N. Saunders has written a terrific book. Closely examining Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson, she asks a simple yet bedeviling question: Why do the leaders of a great power such as the United States choose to intervene militarily in the affairs of another state? Her answers are sophisticated, incisive, multitextured, well informed, and compelling. Leaders at War is important political science and it is important history. Not only students of the Cold War will want to read it.
Jack S. Levy, Rutgers University:
Elizabeth N. Saunders asks the important questions of why great powers intervene in other countries and why that intervention sometimes aims to replace leaders, restructure institutions, and transform societies. Her answer focuses on the distinctive role of individual leaders and their causal beliefs about the origins of threats. Leaders at War adds much to our understanding of the history of American foreign policy during the Cold War and the role of individual leaders in foreign security policy and international conflict. It belongs on the shelf of every serious scholar interested in these central questions of theory, history, and policy.
Larry Berman, University of California, Davis:
Leaders at War is a theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich analysis of the role presidents play in the decision to intervene. Elizabeth N. Saunders helps us understand the implications of transformative and nontransformative strategies as well as the important implications for contemporary policy debates. Leaders at War will be required reading for my students and is sure to emerge at the very top of the list of books advancing our understanding of the links between leadership, beliefs, and external factors that make some interventions more successful than others.
David A. Crockett:
Saunders's work is readable and accessible, and should be of great interest to anyone who cares about presidential leadership and the use of military force.... She makes a convincing case for the importance of the individual in these critical decisions, especially the need to calibrate ends and means. Her observation that presidents appear to be slow learners should be a sobering assessment for the concerned citizen.
