Total Defense

Discover the pivotal transformation of American national security in Andrew Preston's insightful book, Total Defense, published by Harvard University Press in 2025. Spanning 336 pages, this hardback edition delves into the 1930s, a crucial era marked by the rise of fascism. Preston examines how President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Dealers pioneered the doctrine of national security, which extended beyond mere territorial protection to encompass safeguarding the "American way of life" against distant threats. Total Defense offers a compelling analysis of how this revolutionary concept reshaped the United States and its global standing. A must-read for history enthusiasts and anyone interested in the evolution of American policy, this book is set to be a significant contribution to the discourse on national security.