Interview with Forrest Tower, author of US Presidents: Decisions of Consequence
Interviewer: Who would be interested in reading your new book, U.S. Presidents: Decisions of Consequence?
Forrest: Truly, anyone interested in American history will find the book interesting, easy to read, and educational. The book is designed to provide readers with insights into presidential decision-making and explore historical events they may never have heard of or thought about for a long time. The format is a micro-learner's dream come true—quick, concise, and relevant today.
Interviewer: What was the central argument or idea that first sparked your decision to write this book, and how did that initial concept evolve as you conducted your research?
Forrest: First of all, I have been very interested in American history throughout my whole life. Even though I was a science major, I took a number of American history courses in college.
If I had to point to one thing that sparked my interest in writing the American history in a nutshell series, it was a little book by what I call the two Allisons, Alison Rattle and Allison Vale. They wrote a very interesting book called “American History In Bite-Sized Chunks”. In this short book, they summarize the major events in United States history, each on a single page. They wrote each profile in an easy-to-understand way, making the reader comfortable and curious about what’s next.
Interviewer: In a field as vast as history, what gap in the existing literature does your book specifically aim to fill? What new perspective or evidence are you bringing to light?
Forrest: Rather than taking a holistic view of the country's history, as the two Allisons do, in U.S. Presidents: Decisions of Consequence, this book takes a more detailed look at the most critical decisions US presidents have had to make. I tried to emulate the style of Rattle and Vale, aiming for each vignette to be short, to the point, and easy to understand.
While there are a few books on presidential decision-making, I was unable to find a single source that covers the decisions of every president since the country's founding. They have all had to make difficult, sometimes momentous decisions, and I thought this would make for interesting research and reading.
Interviewer: To what extent did you have to challenge or completely dismantle conventional wisdom or long-held historical narratives about this subject? Can you give us a concrete example?
Forrest: I don’t think I had to dismantle conventional wisdom, but instead put together a compendium that tells the story of each significant decision every president has had to make. Of course, they all have had to make multiple vital decisions, but only one can stand out as the most. Consequential. Focusing on that singular decision to write about was challenging but ultimately worthwhile.
A good example is Lyndon Baines Johnson, who was grappling with several critical issues as president. The country was in a societal depression as the young and charming president, John F. Kennedy, had been brutally assassinated. The Cold War was raging. The Civil Rights movement was growing and could not be ignored. Poverty, especially among the elderly, was alarming; health care for the poor and elderly needed support, and the Vietnam War was escalating. One could argue that all of these required his undivided attention, yet Johnson had to make major decisions for each. Although he passed the most significant legislation for Civil Rights and health care in generations, it was ultimately his decisions on the Vietnam War that became his most consequential.
Interviewer: Every historian has a favorite discovery. What was the most surprising or revelatory primary source you uncovered while researching this book?
Forrest: Getting back to Lyndon Johnson, I think my biggest aha moment in researching this book was realizing the impact he had on society. Almost everyone is familiar with Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and how it helped pull the country out of the Great Depression, but I think Johnson is very underrated, given his record. Although Vietnam was terrible, and I think history tells us that there were a lot of mistakes in the Johnson administration, what he did for American society was tremendous. He wholeheartedly supported the Civil Rights movement through significant legislation, and he likewise secured Medicare and Medicaid. These were substantial advancements in our day-to-day lives.
Interviewer: You're dealing with real people from the past. How did you balance the need for rigorous, evidence-based analysis with the human desire to tell a compelling story, especially when sources were scarce or biased?
Forrest: Although I have been reading about American history my entire life and knew many of the stories recounted in the book, I relied heavily on online research to gather the facts for each president. I then used AI tools (Perplexity, Copilot, Meta, Gemini) to help me determine which of the many decisions each president made was most consequential. I then conducted additional research on the context leading up to that decision and its impact.
Interviewer: Your book is published today. What connection or lesson do you hope modern readers, who live in a very different world, will draw from the history you've detailed?
Forrest: To a great extent, history repeats itself. There are definitely recurrent themes throughout the history of the United States. Some of these include political polarization, which began long ago with the tremendous animosity between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson after George Washington decided not to run for a second term. American expansionism is another theme in which several presidents, either deliberately or incidentally, expanded the country's reach. For example, following the Spanish-American War, we first became a global power. Another theme is the use of tariffs and tax adjustments to shore up the economy.
Even today, we see the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 being used by current politicians.
Interviewer: What is the one major takeaway you hope lingers in the mind of a reader long after they’ve finished the final chapter?
Forrest: I think the biggest takeaway from this book is that each president’s legacy will be defined by the decisions he or she (eventually) makes. Most frequently, there will be one standout decision that each president will be remembered for.
Interviewer: What differentiates your books from other American History textbooks?
Forrest: First, they are written in an easy-to-read style. Second, they are quick reads, so anyone who has five or ten minutes can read a few pages and learn about a couple of presidents. Third, they all come with additional downloadable materials, free of charge, available on my website—things like discussion guides for book clubs and classes, bookmarks, further reading recommendations, and other useful content.
Interviewer: Now that the book is out, what is the next historical question or era that is calling to you, and might it be the subject of your next project?
Forrest: I’m glad you asked. American History In A Nutshell is a series of books I am writing to entertain and inform anyone interested in learning about the nation’s history, using a quick-read, microlearning format.
U.S. Presidents: Decisions of Consequence is the first of five books that I have already written. The first three are about U.S. Presidents and include:
“Decisions of Consequence”
“Successes and Failures”
“Quotes of Consequence”
The fourth is a book that looks at how the United States came to be and which profiles not only the famous founders, which everyone knows about, but also many of the other men and women who had a significant part in the American Revolution and the founding documents, the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution. The book is titled “The American Founders: Leaders of the Revolution.”
The fifth book takes a fascinating look at the Supreme Court of the United States. My co-author and I looked, in great detail, at each of the seventeen Chief Justices and the Landmark cases that they presided over. We took a different twist by writing in the first person, as if each Chief Justice were telling his own story and then his take on each case.
All of the books use the same quick, easy-to-read style, although “The Supreme Court of the United States: Decisions of Consequence” is a bit more in-depth than the others.
I hope that if you like one of my books, you will read the others.
They are available at all major online bookstores, on my website, and in many retail bookstores.