The gravest decision in a democracy is the one to go to war. In a book that brings a magisterial command of history to the most urgent of contemporary questions, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., explores the war in Iraq, the presidency, and the future of democracy. Describing unilateralism as "the oldest doctrine in American history," Schlesinger nevertheless warns of the dangers posed by the fatal turn in U.S. policy from deterrence and containment to preventive war. He writes powerfully about George W. Bush's expansion of presidential power and the revived Imperial Presidency (a phrase Schlesinger invented). He reminds us of our country's distinguished legacy of patriotism through dissent in wartime, calling on us to honor that tradition even in the face of our need for security. And he reminds us of the inscrutability of history.

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., is a writer and historian. Among his many works are the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Age of Jackson and A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House.

Meelya Gordon Memorial Lecture