Presidential Historian Michael Beschloss to Speak at

June 06, 2008  - Whatever the outcome of the November 2008 Presidential election, it will make history. America could see its first black president or the oldest president at the time of his election. What role did having the first female contender from a mainstream party have in this mix? What do these milestones mean? Who better to answer those questions than the man whom Newsweek magazine has called “the nation’s leading presidential historian.”

Michael Beschloss has written nine books on American presidents. The International Herald Tribune has called him “a national treasure.” Beschloss, a 1973 graduate of Phillips Academy, in Andover, is a featured speaker at the school’s annual Reunion Weekend. Beschloss will speak on “What History Might Tell Us About 2008” Saturday, June 14, from 2 -3 p.m., at the Cochran Chapel, on the Andover campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Beschloss’ 2007 book Presidential Courage was #1 on the Washington Post bestseller list and a fixture on the NY Times bestseller list for months. It follows his 2002 NY Times bestseller Conquerors which was Amazon.com’s best-selling history book of the year. Earlier, Beschloss authored two volumes about the secret tapes of President Lyndon Johnson. He also authored The Crisis Years which the New Yorker called the “definitive” history of John F. Kennedy and the Cold War.

Beschloss holds the unique position of “Presidential Historian” for NBC News, the first such role on any major television network. He appears on NBC News programs and hosts an ongoing segment called “American Minute with Michael Beschloss” on the Today show. The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (PBS) taps Beschloss as a regular commentator, and he also writes “Traveling Through History with Michael Beschloss” in Newsweek.

A Chicago native, Beschloss is an alumnus of Williams and Harvard and holds three honorary doctorates. A resident of Washington, D.C., he is a trustee of the White House Historical Association and the National Archives Foundation. He created the Discovery Channel’s “Decisions That Shook The World,” which earned him an Emmy in 2005.