Wikipedia

Michael Beschloss

Michael Richard Beschloss[1](born November 30, 1955)[2]is an American historian specializing in theUnited States presidency.[3][4][5]He is the author of nine books on the presidency.[3]

Michael Beschloss
Beschloss in 2023
Beschloss in 2023
BornMichael Richard Beschloss
(1955-11-30)November 30, 1955(age 69)
Chicago,Illinois,U.S.
OccupationHistorian
EducationWilliams College(BA)
Harvard University(MBA)
SubjectUnited States presidency
SpouseAfsaneh Mashayekhi
Children2

Early life

edit

Beschloss was born inChicago,grew up inFlossmoor, Illinoiswhich is south of Chicago, to Ruth and Morris Beschloss, who was aJewishrefugee fromNazi Germany.Besschloss was a student atEaglebrook SchoolinDeerfield, Massachusetts;Phillips AcademyinAndover, Massachusetts;Williams CollegeinWilliamstown, Massachusetts;andHarvard University.[6]He majored inpolitical science,studying underJames MacGregor Burnsat Williams College[7]from which he graduated with Highest Honors, and earned an MBA atHarvard Business School,originally intending to write about history while he held a position as an executive at a foundation.[8]

Career

edit

Beschloss has been a frequent commentator on thePBS NewsHourand is aNBC Newspresidential historian. He is a trustee of theWhite House Historical Associationand theNational Archives Foundation.[9]He sits on the board of theSmithsonian'sNational Museum of American Historyand has been a trustee of theThomas Jefferson Foundation(Monticello), theUrban Institute,theUniversity of Virginia'sMiller Center of Public Affairs[10]and thePEN/Faulkner Foundation.

He also sat on the advisory board to theAbraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commissionand was a member of thePresident's Commission on White House Fellowships.He held appointments in history at theSmithsonian Institution,[11]as a senior associate member atSt. Antony's College(University of Oxford),[11]a visiting scholar at the Harvard University Russian Research Center,[11]a Senior Fellow of theAnnenberg Foundation,and a Montgomery Fellow and Dorsett Fellow atDartmouth College.Since 2014, he has been chair of the annual Robert F. Kennedy Book Awards. He has appeared onThe Daily Showin2003,2005,2006,2007,and2010.He was portrayed byChris KattanonNBC'sSaturday Night Liveon February 14, 1998.[12]

Beschloss has had aXaccount, @BeschlossDC, since October 2012.[13][3]Timeincluded his account in their "Best Twitter Feeds of 2013".[14]He has contributed columns on history with the title HistorySource toThe New York Times.[15]He is also the editor ofWashingtonbyMeg Greenfield(2001) andEssays in Honor of James MacGregor Burns(withThomas Cronin) in 1988.

Awards

edit

Beschloss received a 2005News and Documentary Emmy Awardfor being the host ofDiscovery Channel'sDecisions That Shook the World,the category was "Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Research". He has received theWilliams College Bicentennial Medal,[16]Illinois' Order of Lincoln (the state's highest honor), the Harry S. Truman Public Service Award, theAmbassador Book Award,theRutgers UniversityLiving History Award, theNew York State ArchivesHistory Award, the Founders Award of theHistorical Society of Pennsylvania,and the Phillips AcademyAndoverAlumni Award of Distinction. He has received honorary doctorates fromLafayette College,Williams College,St. Mary's College of Maryland,Saint Peter's College,Governors State UniversityandAllegheny College.[10]

Beschloss was inducted as a Laureate ofThe Lincoln Academy of Illinoisand awarded the Order of Lincoln (the state's highest honor) by the governor in 2004 in the area of Communications and Education.[17]In October 2022, Beschloss received the National Archives' annual Records of Achievement Award. In 2019, he received The Lincoln Forum'sRichard Nelson CurrentAward of Achievement.[18]

Personal life

edit

He has two sons with hisIranian-born wifeAfsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss.[11][9]Afsaneh is president and CEO of the Rock Creek Group, aWashington D.C.investment firm. They are advisory board members of Resources for Inner City Children.[19]Beschloss' brother Steven is also a writer and journalist.

Bibliography

edit
  • Kennedy and Roosevelt: The Uneasy Alliance(1980); started as Beschloss's senior honors thesis atWilliams College
  • Mayday: Eisenhower, Khrushchev and the U-2 Affair(1986)
  • Eisenhower: A Centennial Life(1990)
  • The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev, 1960–1963(1991)
  • The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941–1945(2002)
  • Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789–1989(2007)
  • Presidents of War: The Epic Story, from 1807 to Modern Times(2018)

Co-authored Books

  • At the Highest Levels: The Inside Story of the End of the Cold War(1993); withStrobe Talbott.

Edited Books

  • Taking Charge: The Johnson White House Tapes, 1963–1964(1997)
  • Reaching for Glory: Lyndon Johnson's Secret White House Tapes, 1964–1965(2001),

Edited transcriptions ofLyndon B. Johnson's conversations, as captured by his taping system, with historical annotation and commentary. A third Johnson volume is forthcoming.

  • Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy(2011)

Reception

edit

PresidentBill ClintontoldPeoplein December 1997 that the first audiobook he ever listened to wasTaking Chargeby Michael Beschloss.[20]InBob Woodward'sPlan of Attack,PresidentGeorge W. Bushis quoted as telling the authorElie Wieselin February 2003, "I read your views onAuschwitzin Michael Beschloss' book ", referring toThe Conquerors.[21]Bush refers to Beschloss' bookPresidential Couragein his 2010 memoirDecision Points.[22]

John Frankenheimer's last film,Path to War(HBO, 2002), starringDonald SutherlandandMichael Gambon,was based in part on Beschloss' two books aboutLyndon B. Johnson.

References

edit
  1. ^"Michael Beschloss".illinoisauthors.org.Illinois Center for the Book/Illinois State Library.Retrieved2011-08-31.
  2. ^"Beschloss, Michael R."Library of Congress Name Authority File.Library of Congress.March 12, 2003.Retrieved2020-01-15.
  3. ^abcBeard, David (25 April 2013)."Historian Michael Beschloss takes to Twitter and offers multimedia tweets"– via washingtonpost.
  4. ^"Michael Beschloss chronicles American 'Presidents of War'".PBS NewsHour.16 October 2018.Retrieved2021-12-03.
  5. ^Crandall, Russell (4 July 2019)."War Powers".Survival.61(4):157–162.doi:10.1080/00396338.2019.1637128.ISSN0039-6338.S2CID199353051.
  6. ^New York Times,January 28, 1987, and July 25, 1991.
  7. ^"James MacGregor Burns with Michael Beschloss".C-SPAN.org.
  8. ^C-SPAN, "Booknotes", June 21, 1991.
  9. ^ab"Michael Beschloss".msnbc.2006-11-07.Retrieved2019-08-27.
  10. ^ab"Michael Beschloss | Speaker Agency, Speaking Fee, Videos".SPEAKING Keynote Speakers Bureau.Retrieved2019-08-27.
  11. ^abcd"Character Above All: MICHAEL R. BESCHLOSS".pbs.org.
  12. ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 2005-09-21.Retrieved2012-02-20.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^@BeschlossDC,Twitter.
  14. ^"Not Found - Tech".Archivedfrom the original on 2013-03-30 – via techland.time.
  15. ^AP, November 20, 2013
  16. ^"Michael Beschloss, Class of 1977".Alumni Awards.
  17. ^"Laureates by Year - The Lincoln Academy of Illinois".The Lincoln Academy of Illinois.Archived fromthe originalon 2015-09-23.Retrieved2016-03-07.
  18. ^The Lincoln Forum
  19. ^"Supporters, Partners, Board".Resources for Inner City Children. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-27.Retrieved2011-08-31.
  20. ^People,December 29, 1997.
  21. ^Bob Woodward,Plan of Attack(Simon and Schuster, 2004), p. 320
  22. ^George W Bush,Decision Points,pp. 121-122.
edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related toMichael Beschloss.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Beschloss&oldid=1273794940"