Total Defense: The New Deal and the Invention of National Security

A New Yorker Best Book of the Year

“Total Defense is so impressive because Preston is the master of his craft; his clarity and sophistication are always buttressed by illuminating evidence and well-chosen quotations, bespeaking both a great expert’s depth and an expert writer’s talent.”
–Samuel Moyn, The New Republic

The story of how FDR and fellow New Dealers created the idea of national security, transforming the meaning of defense and vastly expanding the US government’s responsibilities.

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