By Anthony Fiumidinisi
Staff Writer, ‘10

As a student, I had the pleasure of attending the 37th annual Business Symposium hosted by the College at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Jersey City. The symposium typically has notable speakers, who are experts in their fields. The Keynote Speaker was the best-selling Presidential Historian, Michael Beschloss. After hearing his lecture about past president Lyndon B. Johnson, I had the pleasure of meeting him on the outside deck during a photo session.
Mr. Beschloss was a calm and refined man; he gave me some political advice for photo shoots. He instructed me to always keep my hand visible when I put it around someone in a photograph. This would insure that I would not get cropped out of the photograph.  When he said this, we both shared a laugh.
I picked up a copy of his book at one of the stands inside. The book was named “Presidential Courage”. I asked him to sign the book soon after and he obliged with a smile. It was not until I read the book that my respect for him grew for his intellect and knowledge of the Presidency.
The book was a testimonial of nine Presidents who acted courageously and accurately in times of distress. The stories span from 1789 until 1989. The stories are not your typical mainstream political tales. He digs into the logic of the President in office and weaves many perspectives from all of the President’s cabinet members, secretaries, and other staff. The tales will often leave the reader momentarily baffled, until Beschloss ties all the threads together and the context and meaning of the story become clear.
For example, George Washington had arguably the most difficult job of all.  We were a new nation, no longer controlled by England. He had to endure many infidelities such as Benedict Arnold’s betrayal. He needed to maintain balance and delegate power to all the newly established departments. After reading, one does have a better understanding of how difficult the job of the Commander-in-Chief is. One sees how stressful it can be for a President to do the right thing for his country and not always be popular with the people. Beschloss reminds the readers that the Presidents are still human beings.
Presidential Courage is a great book that gives the reader an inside look at the most coveted office in the world.