Travels from District of Columbia, USA
Michael Beschloss's speaking fee falls within range: $0 to $75,000
Described by Newsweek as “the nation’s leading Presidential historian,” Michael Beschloss is an award-winning historian, author of nine bestselling books and NBC News special correspondent. He recently co-authored the New York Times #1 bestseller Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy with Caroline Kennedy, and his history of American presidents in wartime from James Madison to George W Bush will be published this year.
Called “easily the most widely recognized presidential historian in the United States,” by The New York Times Book Review, and named as “a national treasure” by Albert Hunt of Bloomberg News, Beschloss holds a unique position as the NBC News Presidential Historian. He also makes regular contributions to PBS NewsHour, and in 2005 he was awarded an Emmy for creating and hosting the Discovery Channel series Decisions that Shook the World.
Educated at Phillips Academy (Andover) and Williams College, Beschloss holds an advanced degree from Harvard Business School. He has held positions as historian on the staff of the Smithsonian Institution, senior associate member of Oxford University and as senior fellow of the Annenberg Foundation in Washington DC.
Beschloss’ highly praised works have included Kennedy and Roosevelt: The Uneasy Alliance, Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989 and Taking Charge and Reaching for Glory, these last two, concerning President Johnson’s secret tapes, being called “sheer marvelous history” by The Wall Street Journal and “an important event” by The New York Times.
A trustee of the White House Historical Association, the National Archives Foundation and the University of Virginia’s Miller Centre of Public Affairs, Beschloss has been awarded honorary doctorates by Williams College, St Mary’s College (Maryland), Lafayette College, St Peter’s College and Governors State University. The state of Illinois has awarded him the Order of Lincoln and Independence, Missouri honored him with the Harry S. Truman Public Service Award.
Michael Beschloss is an award-winning historian, scholar of leadership, and bestselling author of ten books. His latest bestseller, Presidents of War, garnered high praise from esteemed publications such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
As a prominent figure in historical discourse, Beschloss appears regularly on television as the NBC News presidential historian and a contributor to PBS NewsHour. He has also been a contributing columnist for the New York Times.
Beschloss’s exceptional work in television has earned him an Emmy, highlighting his ability to engage and educate the public on historical matters. He has received six honorary degrees and a host of awards attesting to his impact on both scholarship and public understanding of history.
Educated at the Harvard Business School, Beschloss’s studies focused on leadership in various spheres, equipping him with a unique perspective in both the public and private sectors. He has served as a historian at the Smithsonian, a scholar at the University of Oxford, and a senior fellow of the Annenberg Foundation.
His writings include critical works such as two volumes on Lyndon Johnson’s secret tapes, which shed new light on the presidency during tumultuous times. The Conquerors, another of his notable works, offers a look at Franklin Roosevelt’s strategies against Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Presidential Courage delves into the complexities of leadership and decision-making at the highest levels.
Beschloss’s collaboration with Caroline Kennedy on Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy resulted in a bestseller that provided intimate insights into the life of the Kennedy family. His work not only chronicles the past but also informs our present, making history accessible and relevant to a broad audience.
Michael Beschloss gives the commencement address at St Peter's College, giving new graduates the benefit of his historical and political expertise. He tells them, “It's a confusing time in America and around the world, and I think at confusing times in history the best way to understand what's going on and sort through the confusion is to look at earlier times when we have suffered a similar period." Going back through the lessons of history, he says, “If you go back and look through history, it gives you a little bit of a reference point for what lies ahead. The nice thing about it is that sometimes it's a little bit reassuring that dark as things may seem at the moment, if you look back at American history, we Americans have a tendency to get through these things and prevail." Drawing on his stock of historical anecdotes, he relates, “I can't help but remember the late 1940s, when the Secretary of State was George Marshall, who had been a great general in World War II, and the Russians were coming across Europe, threatening to conquer Europe, and Marshall's young aides came to him and said General Marshall, this is terrible, we've never seen anything like this, and Marshall's reply was, I've seen worse. My point is, if you read history, you'll learn an awful lot about politics, but it can also teach you an awful lot about life."
Combining his expertise as a Harvard Business School advanced graduate and his many years of research as a presidential historian, Michael Beschloss examines leadership from the boardroom to the Oval Office. He picks out the most egregious examples of success and failure and demonstrates the lessons that can be learned from both.
There is no historian in the world better qualified to give fascinating presentations on American presidents than Beschloss. Drawing on his book Presidential Courage, he shows that the greatest presidents have been willing to take political risks that could end their careers for reasons that would later be greatly admired. Beschloss takes us through presidents from Washington to Reagan showing just how great leaders make great changes.
Having lived in Washington DC for more than a quarter of a century, Beschloss has forged intimate connections with people at the very heart of the US political establishment, including Presidents, Supreme Court justices and members of both Houses. In a fascinating presentation he gives his audience a taste of the secret Washington that they will not hear about anywhere else.
Great Presidents Past and Present
As a master in his field, Beschloss brings us inspiring, humorous and tragic never-before-told stories of American presidents – from George Washington to Joe Biden – as they struggle with war, peace and domestic crisis. He reveals the qualities that have made great presidents in history and shows how to find leaders who have them now – in politics, business and civic life.
Leadership From the Board Room to the Oval Office
Drawing on his years studying leadership at the Harvard Business School and as a presidential historian, Beschloss, customizing his presentation for each audience, picks the most brilliant successes and the most lethal mistakes made in business and politics – and shows what they can teach us.
The Washington, D.C. You’re Not Hearing About
From his talks with presidents, Supreme Court justices, diplomats and members of Congress and his quarter-century in the capital, Beschloss reveals the hidden side of important personalities and behind-the-scenes developments that may soon have a major impact on your life.
Presidential Courage
What makes a great U.S. president? Michael Beschloss believes the answer is “presidential courage”: the willingness to take a political risk that might end a president’s career-and the wisdom to do that for reasons that later Americans will admire. In a presentation based on his book Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989, Beschloss describes crucial times when courageous presidents took such risks and overcame obstacles to dramatically change the future of the United States. From George Washington to Ronald Reagan, the presidents Beschloss focuses on addressed some of the most paramount, abiding issues in American history-war and peace, human rights, and the proper balance between government and business. A natural storyteller, Beschloss details the outstanding traits of these presidents, and then compares them to the current crop of presidential candidates, for in insightful glance into America’s political future. He also uses what he has discovered about presidential courage to provide leadership lessons for all of us.
Edward F Mooney, Professor Emeritus, Syacuse University
February 12, 2021
A superlative commentator/speaker.
Speaker rating 10/10
“In the spirit of the season, a home run! Michael Beschloss was charming, funny and informative, and he kept the crowd rapt. Hit all the right notes. Thanks to you and all at WSB for your professionalism and responsiveness throughout.” – Universities & Colleges
“I don’t think we could have had a speaker that was more timely than Michael. He was an over the top success. Largest attendance and sold a number of his books.” – Health Care
“Michael Beschloss was terrific. We put him through his paces all day long and he did a great job at each venue. He spoke early in the day to 300 history teachers and in the evening to our dinner for about 750. He was very well received.” – Idaho Humanities Council
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Presidents of War: The Epic Story, from 1807 to Modern Times
Widely acclaimed and ten years in the making, Michael Beschloss’s Presidents of War is an intimate and irresistibly readable chronicle of the Chief Executives who took the United States into conflict and mobilized it for victory. From the War of 1812 to Vietnam, we see these leaders considering the difficult decision to send hundreds of thousands of Americans to their deaths; struggling with Congress, the courts, the press, and antiwar protesters; seeking comfort from their spouses and friends; and dropping to their knees in prayer. Through Beschloss’s interviews with surviving participants and findings in original letters and once-classified national security documents, we come to understand how these Presidents were able to withstand the pressures of war—or were broken by them.
Presidents of War combines this sense of immediacy with the overarching context of two centuries of American history, traveling from the time of our Founders, who tried to constrain presidential power, to our modern day, when a single leader has the potential to launch nuclear weapons that can destroy much of the human race.
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