[A] probing examination of the political struggle to define national security during the 1930s…compelling.—Sean M. Case, Lawfare

One of the most interesting books I have read about national security. Readers learn that there was once a much broader conception of what constitutes Americans' national security before the Cold War that encompassed all of human flourishing. I found the book both readable and intellectually stimulating.—Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst and author of The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden

A compelling demonstration of the power of words and persuasion. Roady’s account of the post–New Deal eclipse of ‘security’ as a domestic policy imperative is a must-read for anyone interested in the past and future of the national security state.—Daniel T. Rodgers, author of Contested Truths: Keywords in American Politics since Independence

Peter Roady’s insightful, capacious book offers us new ways of thinking about the history of the concept of national security. By showing us an era when the idea of security was politically contested, he asks us what it might truly mean to live in a safer and freer world.—Kim Phillips-Fein, author of Fear City: New York’s Fiscal Crisis and the Rise of Austerity Politics

National security ranks among the most potent ideas in American politics. Peter Roady gives us a revelatory account of the concept’s origins and evolution. The Contest over National Security ought to be required reading for anyone interested—or involved—in the work of government.—Daniel J. Sargent, author of A Superpower Transformed: The Remaking of American Foreign Relations in the 1970s

In this carefully researched, crisply written new history of the 1930s and 1940s, Peter Roady explains how definitions of US national security, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt initially described in sweeping terms, became artificially constrained. In doing so, Roady paves the way for improved conversations about the true meanings of national and global security in today’s precarious world.—Mark R. Wilson, author of Destructive Creation: American Business and the Winning of World War II

The concept and language of national security have considerable power in US history and current politics, but their meaning is not fixed. As scholars and citizens alike, we should have a clearer sense of what it has meant and could mean for the people of the United States to enjoy greater security. Weighing in on a number of vital debates, The Contest over National Security is diligently researched and persuasively argued—an excellent book that will be important not only to historians but to the larger world of serious readers.—Eric Rauchway, author of Why the New Deal Matters