Death and the statesman : the culture and psychology of U.S. leaders during war / Joseph B. Underhill-Cady.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [219]-234) and index.

"Death and the Statesman argues that the fear of death powerfully shapes our thinking about war. More importantly, it also shapes the thinking of those leaders and officials who decide when and where we will go to war. Drawing on an extensive study of twentieth-century U.S. foreign policy officials, Underhill-Cady argues that foreign policy leaders construe war through the use of symbolism, metaphor, and ritual as a battle against death itself.

He shows how this battle bears the imprint of the elite's concerns about their own mortality and the need for the nation to transcend mortal bounds, what he calls their "immortality projects." Serving as a bridge between the individual citizen and the nation, the elite's social construction of death in battle in turn helps the soldiers and citizenry gain a sense of immortality. From Theodore Roosevelt's numerous hunting trips to George Bush's leap from an airplane, Underhill-Cady uses anecdotes drawn from biographies, memoirs, and letters of U.S. policymakers to illustrate these immortality projects, showing the human side of what is at heart a very inhuman decision.

Together with insightful analysis, Death and the Statesman provides a fresh and provocative perspective on the underlying cultural and psychological dynamics that make it possible for nations to go to war."--BOOK JACKET.