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Michael Beschloss

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Michael Beschloss
BornMichael Richard Beschloss
(1955-11-30)November 30, 1955(age 68)
Chicago,Illinois,U.S.
OccupationHistorian
EducationWilliams College(BA)
Harvard University(MBA)
SubjectUnited States presidency
SpouseAfsaneh Mashayekhi
Children2

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]

Early life

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Beschloss was born in Chicago, grew up inFlossmoor, Illinois,and was educated atEaglebrook School,Phillips Academy (Andover, MA),Williams CollegeandHarvard University.[6]He majored inpolitical science,studying underJames MacGregor Burnsat Williams,[7]from which he graduated with Highest Honors, and earned an MBA atHarvard Business School,with the original intention of writing history while serving as a foundation executive.[8]

Career

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Beschloss has been a frequent commentator on thePBS NewsHourand is theNBC NewsPresidential Historian. He is a trustee of theWhite House Historical Associationand theNational Archives Foundation[9]and he also sits on the board of theSmithsonian'sNational Museum of American History.He 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 has 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.

Beschloss has appeared onThe Daily Showin2003,2005,2006,2007,and2010.He was portrayed byChris KattanonNBC'sSaturday Night Liveon February 14, 1998.[12]

He started aTwitteraccount, @BeschlossDC, in October 2012.[13][3]It appears onTimemagazine's list of "Best Twitter Feeds of 2013".[14]He also has contributed columns on history under the title HistorySource toThe New York Times.[15]

Beschloss is also the editor ofWashingtonbyMeg Greenfield(2001) andEssays in Honor of James MacGregor Burns(withThomas Cronin) (1988).

Awards

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Beschloss received a 2005News & Documentary Emmy Awardfor theDiscovery Channel'sDecisions That Shook the World,of which he was the host; the category was "Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Research". He has also received theWilliams College Bicentennial Medal,[16]the State of Illinois's 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 Pennsylvaniaand 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]

Michael Beschloss was inducted as a Laureate ofThe Lincoln Academy of Illinoisand awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2004 in the area of Communications and Education.[17]In October 2022, with a ceremony at the National Archives in Washington DC, Beschloss received the National Archives' annual Records of Achievement Award.

In 2019, Beschloss received The Lincoln Forum'sRichard Nelson CurrentAward of Achievement.[18]

Personal life

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Beschloss is the son of Ruth and Morris Beschloss, who was a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany. He has two sons with hisIranian-born wifeAfsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss.[11][9]His wife is president and CEO of the Rock Creek Group, aWashington, D.C.investment firm. The couple are advisory board members ofResources for Inner City Children.[19]

Bibliography

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  • 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

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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 also 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 onLyndon B. Johnson.

References

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  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.com.
  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.com.2006-11-07.Retrieved2019-08-27.
  10. ^ab"Michael Beschloss | Speaker Agency, Speaking Fee, Videos".SPEAKING.com Keynote Speakers Bureau.Retrieved2019-08-27.
  11. ^abcd"Character Above All: MICHAEL R. BESCHLOSS".www.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".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-03-30 – via techland.time.com.
  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.
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