Author Description

John Ely, formerly a prof. of constitutional Law at Harvard Univ. and now a at Stanford Univ., presents a patient and careful examination of Congress's role in the authorization of the Vietnam War. He argues that the framers of the Constitution clearly intended to give Congress a decisive voice in a decision to go to war, but that Congress itself has repeatedly evaded this responsibility. The book is a detailed and tightly analyzed summary of recent uses of the war power. It is of value to anyone teaching about the presidency or concerned at the clash that sometimes exists between the power of the modern presidency and the tenets of American democracy. "Destined to become a classic." "Belongs on the bookshelf of anyone teaching about the Presidency."