Book Description
This is the first full-length account of the CIA's coup d'etat in Iran in 1953âa covert operation whose consequences are still with us today. Written by a noted New York Times journalist, this book is based on documents about the coup (including some lengthy internal CIA reports) that have now been declassified. Stephen Kinzer's compelling narrative is at once a vital piece of history, a cautionary tale, and a real-life espionage thriller.
Customer Reviews:
A must read for America in increasingly disastrous times.......2007-10-12
The insights provided in this book are masterfully presented to offer both a page turning drama and sickening clarity on the trajectories of American meddling in the Middle East. This book goes beyond serving up mundane theories and conjecture. The overall picture here illustrated is profoundly clear and evident in light of the author's supporting research. A glimpse of the future for international policy in the Middle East may well be drawn from the series of events which transpired over the latter half of the 20th century, and which are so brilliantly connected in this book. A must read for anyone keen to understand the increasingly disastrous times of America in the East.
Consequences of One Week ,Fifty Years Ago.......2007-10-04
In 1953 the United States made a momentous decision. Partially out of legitimate fear of a possible Russian takeover of the valuable Iranian Oil field, and partly as a result of incitement by British interests who sought to stubbornly maintain their imperialistic power structure, the CIA led a sinister and clandestine coup that removed the most beloved and democratic leader Iran has had in a century; Mohammend Mossadegh.
Mossadegh was replaced by the Shah Pahlavi who became so hated that a Muslim fanatical mob overthrew him in 1979. The new theocracy, well remembering the American led coup, feared that the CIA would attempt it again. As insurance they attacked the US embassy and took 52 American hostages.
This act so infuriated the Americans that they supported Saddam Hussein's horrific war against Iran. This led to Russia's invasion of Afghanistan, the rise of the Muslim fanatics who created the Hezbollah and Taliban, the empowerment of Saddam, the invasion of Kuwait, the attacks on the US in Beruit, Somalia, 911, and of course our current clumsy missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
While America's awkward foreign policy proved disastrous in hindsight, the fear of communist control of Middle Eastern oil was a driving force in the 1950's. Blame must be shared with the British Anglo-Iranian Oil Company for their greed, the British for treating the Iranians so poorly, for the Iranian Shahs who sold Iran's concessions to fund their lavish life, and for even Mossadegh himself for becoming so blind in his justified hatred for the British that he refused any compromise offered.
Yet while the Iranians despise the US for our intrusions into their affairs and the suffering it has caused, they still honor the American institutions of freedom and democracy. These values are currently suppressed by the current theocracy.
Kinzer's well researched story reads like a first class spy novel. He avoids cynicism and anti American tirades and presents the story in a balanced light. While he does not avoid detailing the disaster we unleashed he also did not avoid the context of the anti Communist fears shared by many Americans in the 1950s.
He will make you think different about the current events in the Middle East.
All the Shah's Men.......2007-08-08
I think this is a book that every American should read because it explains so clearly the little known facts about the overthrow of the very first democratically elected prime minister in Iran. The seeds of democracy were there - just waiting for a little water but because Mossadegh was a nationalist and didn't want to be indebted to any foreign power including the U.S., we initiated this clandestine covert operation which brought the Shah back to power. At the time of the hostage crisis, I couldn't understand why the Iranian's hated us so much. Now I see that scenario with complete clarity. Regime change by any other name is still meddling in the affairs of foreign countries. Even if we don't care about what happens to that country, it always comes back to haunt us because it's bad foreign policy - bad for the U.S. in the worst possible ways.
Excellent crash course in the root of US/Iranian problems.......2007-07-17
I was recommended this book by a friend who is Persian. He considers himself Persian because he does not want to be identified as an Iranian due to misperceptions of the people in the United States. He also does not want to be lumped in with being the government that currently exists in Iran.
The book itself is a relatively quick read that can be done in a day or two. But the wealth of information that Kinzer has packed into what I would consider a short book is astounding. He chronicles the history of Iran dating back to the days of Darius and Cyrus albeit briefly. Then eventually focuses on several key events of the late 19th century and moves into the 20th century. The main focus of the book is the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and their nationalization by Mohammed Mossadegh in the mid-part of the 20th century. This eventually paved the way for the British to coerce the United States Government under Dwight Eisenhower to green light covert ops against Mossaedegh to remove him from his position of Prime Minister of Iran. This led the way for the Shah to assume authoritarian control over the country, which eventually culminated in the 1979 Revolution.
It is an incredibly fascinating story and goes to show how the United States in a sense created their own problem with Iran due to the desire to have oil flowing from the country. They got 26 years worth of it only to create a bigger problem by leading the way inadvertently for the fundamentalist government that is there now. It becomes clear why Harry S. Truman is so greatly appreciated these days due to his ability to make decisions that were and would have been better for the long term. He opposed any US action against Iran. If only that advice had been followed, who knows what might have been in the Middle East.
For those wanting to know why the current regime in Iran supports terrorist groups and is so vehemently anti-Western? This is the book to read. It does an excellent job of explaining why and how we got to the this point we are at currently.
Imagine that Iran would try to dictate the US at which prices and to whom they can only sell their products and own resources..........2007-07-14
This book shows the kind of info that is not found, as usual, in the mainstream media. It shows you how the US along with other countries like the UK have tried to control the oil resources of a sovereign third country like Iran. They have used any tool for achieving their goals, even the coup de etat. At the beggining of the history, through the middle ages and until the discovery of America the main excuse for conquering and destroying countries and for genocide was the religion, like happended with the religion wars in Central Europe, in America with the Spanish Catholic Kings and with the English purintans, in France with the hugonots... Then it was the liberty, equality, etc, like with the wars of Napoleon or with Russia and the poor republics that suffered its influece after the war of the October's Revolution. Then it came the race with Hitler. And nowadays the excuse is the democracy. But, always, it is just an excuse that hides the real motivation: economic interest. Nowadays the Western countries while keeping their own population uninformed and sort of drugged with the everyday work and consumption needs, try to convince them to go to war with the excuse that the objective is to spread liberty and democracy. They do this at the same time that they incentivate and protect dictatorships and antidemocratic regimens like they do in most of the Arab countries (there is/were such regimens not only in Iraq or Iran, by the way, just look at the bunch of allies of the US and the UK in the Persian Gulf like Oman, Dubai, Soudern Arabia, Kuwait, Katar, etc.. where the lack of freedom of speach or of democracy does not take the American politicians to go these countries to give them the present of democracy by the force of war). This book is an example of the whole lie, cinism and hypocrisy that the international foreign Wester policies are about. Like alwasy, it is not about virtues but only about money and geostrategical control. For this according the report of the worldwide reputed medicine magazine The Lancet, and published by the American University of John Hopkins, about 660.000 Iraqi people have been killed in Iraq by the middle of the last year, most of them by artillery and air strikes by false called "coalition" forces. For this reason the puppet government of Iraq has announce at the beginning of this year that they will not disclosure more figures of deaths caused by the war. Obviusly the occupants are frighteened by the fact that today, one year after that report, we may have reached already one million deaths, something that if the people of the US and of the UK would be well informed and aware of it they would jump to the streets to stop their goverments spreading the democracy in Iraq. A democratic country of dead people with the second largest oil reserves of the world, a very easy country to control. Whoever that can not understand that it is not democracy or liberty should find the information that is there and that is not provided normaly by the mainstream media. I recommend everybody to read the book of John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hitmank, to understand what it is going on behind the nice words of our politicians.
seeConfessions of an Economic Hit Man
Book Description
The biggest untapped market in the world? The last great communist threat? The free-trade partner? The human rights scourge? China Cross Talk provides a front-row seat to the most memorable scenes in the American debate over China policy since 1978. Representing the full spectrum of opinion on this divisive issue, this book allows participants in the debate to speak in their own voices through selections that range from op-ed articles and commentaries to speeches by leading government officials; from congressional testimony to editorial cartoons. They touch upon the whole range of security, economic, and political issues that have affected the relationship, including the benefits and dangers of diplomatic recognition, managing Taiwan, most-favored-nation status, China's Olympic bids, proliferation, and growing Chinese power
Customer Reviews:
The best book on comtemporary US-China Policy.......2003-03-28
Simply outstanding. This should be required reading for any student of contemporary US foreign affairs or US-China relations. I've ready a lot of mediocre books on the subject over the years, but this is a keeper. Well-organized, nicely woven themes.
Perfect primer on US/ SINO Relations.......2003-03-08
This is an excellent compilation of US/ SINO relations. Kennedy weaves divergent perspectives to give the reader a well rounded POV into the history and future of the US's relationship with the middle kingdom.
Book Description
Acclaimed historian Niall Ferguson ranges across the entire history of AmericaÂ's foreign entanglements and delves into all the dimensions of American power—military, economic, cultural, and political. The result is a book whose conclusions are as convincing, and troubling, as they are original. Ferguson demonstrates that America has always been an empire in denial and shows the fateful consequences of its special brand of imperialism. He examines the challenges to the United States from its principal rivals, the European Union and China, and offers a compelling analysis of the connection between the countryÂ's domestic economic health and its foreign affairs—the bottom line of imperialism, American style. Colossus is a peerless reckoning with American power that should be read by any thinking citizen of this unspoken empire.
Customer Reviews:
Well worth a read.......2007-06-07
I learned more about my own country (USA) in this book than I did at University. Dr. Ferguson is a great writer. The book is well-researched, with lots of new facts that I'd never known.
Quite Possibly Among The Most Important Books of This Decade.......2007-03-02
Originally published in Great Britain as "Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire", Niall Ferguson's book was published in 2004 in an American hardcover edition as "Colossus: The Price of America's Empire". A year later, the American paperback edition resurrected its original British title. And yet, regardless of its title, this spellbinding, provocative work of economic and political history may be as influential a book to Ameircan political elites as Francis Fukuyama's "The End of History" was a decade earlier. I am impressed by the significance of Ferguson's message, and the ample facts he has used to make that message persuasive; namely that the United States of America is indeed an empire. But he uses the term in a positive sense, drawing parallels between the United States and the British Empire as leading examples of liberal empires. In Great Britain's case, he argues here - and I believe, elsewhere, in his earlier book, "Empire" - that the British Empire was the major power responsible for ensuring justice and economic - if not political - freedom across the globe for much of the 19th and early 20th Centuries by virtue of its willingness to use both its economic and military power to accomplish these ends. In stark contrast, Ferguson portrays America's imperial history as that of a reluctant imperial power, whose only successful exercise in imperialism came immediately after World War II, when it rebuilt successfully both West Germany and Japan as vibrant economic and political democracies (He traces the origins of America's rise as an imperial power back to the American Revolution.). He wonders whether we have the determination to see to the end of a successful occupation of Iraq, noting that with respect to both Japan and West Germany, the United States came close to failure. Without question, this is among the most important books published in this decade, and one deserving of a wide audience.
Challenging arguments and logical lapses from a leading Conservative intellectual.......2007-01-16
One of my teachers at Oxford has called Niall Ferguson a "challenging historian," because he makes compelling arguments based on well-researched facts that go against the grain of conventional thinking. He is "conservative" by most standards, but not in the true sense. The idea that I think it is important to point out is that Ferguson has the same "goals" for the future of the world as the majority of mainstream intellectuals; that is, democracy, peace, human rights, prosperity, etc. Where he differs, and where he suddenly seems to be far less conservative, is in his calls for America, the veritable sleeping giant, to take up her role as global hegemony by acting as a "good empire" in the way the British supposedly did in yesteryear. America's substantial wealth and military power would fill the power vacuums with a benign influence, spread democracy, promote economic growth, and prevent warfare by the very nature of its all-encompassing power. The problem, of course, is that American public opinion would never allow this, no more than British public opinion actually supported the "official" British Empire. America is an empire, no doubt, but like Britain it is a subtle kind of empire, one in which the people do not actually consider themselves parts of, or agents of, an empire (read Bernard Porter's "The Absent-minded Imperialists" for the British case). Moreover it would be a dramatic change in policy - to say the least - for America to actually assume the burden he has called for her to assume. Not only would this stretch the already over-stretched Budget, it would require commitments overseas that few Americans consider vital to national security.
Ferguson's ideas also encounter some empirical difficulties. His idea about the benefit of "good" imperialism is based on the observation that the former colonies of the British Empire make up the wealthiest and most developed nations in the world. It is therefore easy to connect this prosperity with British rule, but the case is not so simple. The main problem with this is that the wealthy nations he speaks of are the settler colonies, which had the privilege of British investment and the same preferential economic treatment as the British Isles themselves. India, for example, as well as others, had to deal with economic institutions and policies that favoured the British yet discriminated against Indians. What we actually see in India in many ways is the process of "un-development" under British rule. Certainly the technology and growth of trade was beneficial, but as other examples show, notably Japan, it was not necessary for any imperial overbears to rule in order for these technologies, and these processes of improvement to occur.\
Ferguson is also guilty of somewhat of an anachronism when he suggests that Anglo-American imperialism will take democracy to the world. Ferguson is a clever man, and an excellent economic historian, but somehow he glosses over the fact that the British never intended to take democracy to their colonies; that would simply be disastrous for British rule. In India, especially, the British ruled an empire of "unintended consequences." He also glosses over the fact that both Britain and America have built their power systems on "friendly" dictators around the world since the Cold War, and that more brutal dictatorships, especially in Africa, came forth from British rule than democracies. This brings me to the idea of "imposing" democracy from above on other nations. It could be argued that this has worked in Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, and a number of other nations, but insofar as India is concerned, the roots went deep as a result of widespread disaffection with British rule. Ferguson's view of the west's ability to impose democracy is quite idealistic. And finally, it must be asked, "at what cost would a world such as this be built?"
There's no jury when you are a Conservative.......2006-10-30
Ferguson is an "intellectual" darling of the New Right, but his powers of foresight are shaped by old prejudices. When will the Cons learn that the world does not simply repeat itself? A Gibbon he ain't, but then again neither is the trans-atlantic Republic a modern-day caricature of the Roman Empire...
C.G. Panagidis
Athensm Greece
A Colossus with feet of Clay? .......2006-08-24
Niall Ferguson is one of the most exciting and interesting 'thinkers' in the world today. He is a historian with great knowledge but the most interesting part of his work is a whole set of ideas which challenge the conventional historical wisdom of our day.
One of Ferguson's innovations is to bring back and make centrally important to the reading of history, the concept of Empire. As he sees it this category has been central to Mankind far longer than that of 'nation- state'
In a previous work he looked at the British Empire and again surprised most in our politically correct world by seeing the positive functions the British Empire played. The rule of law, bureaucratic reliability, the flow of capitol for investment and development were part, as he saw it, of the British gift to its colonies.
In this present work he looks at the great power of the world today, the Colossus which is the United States. In military terms it overshadows all other great powers taken together. Economically it is still the great engine of the world though it is to a degree being challenged by the rise of Europe and China. Culturally too, thanks to the hegemony of English it is the prevailing world - power.
Ferguson finds fault with the United States in a way most unusual. He does not curse it as an 'imperial exploiter' but rather sees it as a reluctant giant not willing to fulfill its true global responsibilities. He faults the U.S. for having too few people willing to serve abroad, and help the world. He faults the U.S. for the weakness it shows through having too much debt. He faults the U.S. for not knowing its own imperial role properly and not transforming the world for the good to the fullest degree possible.
All of this is tremendously interesting, but sounds a bit odd given the current U.S. involvements in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the defiance it is facing from a would- be- nuclear Iran. It is possible to argue that America's feet of clay are more and more apparent, even in the military realm where it is most supreme. The whole non- proliferation issue may be broken open by North Korea and Iran, leading to a world with tens of nuclear states.
Ferguson wants the American citizenry to be more informed about the world, more involved in it, more responsible for it.
It seems to me that he is not wrong in his demands, but perhaps a bit unrealistic in expecting them to be realized.
But what Ferguson does is he provides the reader a way of truly thinking anew about the world- and of deeply considering new perspectives.
Book Description
First posted to Moscow in 1962, Jack Matlock was America's man on the scene for most of the Cold War. Filled with portraits of the major players, including Gorbachev, Yeltsin, Reagan, and Bush, this dramatic, eyewitness account of those momentous years contains many new revelations and insights into the decisions of American policymakers. of photos.
Customer Reviews:
A highly readable account from an expert on the matter........1997-12-08
This "Account on the Collapse of the Soviet Union" may be the best book I have read about the demise of the Soviet Union - I personally prefer it over David Remnick's "Lenin's Tomb," which won the Pulitzer Price. For one thing I think Mr. Matlock is among the men best suited to write about the Soviet Union, since he has experienced it first-hand for over 30 years. Moreover, although he never denies that the book constitutes his personal account, he still manages to seperate the issues discussed from his own person, something that I found Remnick to have trouble with at times. His theories, although not necessarily earth-shattering, are backed up by oodles of evidence, be it data or just anecdotes. The summary and the description of the CIS states and the future of the Commonwealth also provide a glimpse into the future. All you ever wanted to know about the epochal events and influences shaping the former Soviet block today.
Customer Reviews:
A great book.......2007-04-16
Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-94) is well remembered for the Watergate scandal, but he is also remembered as one of the greatest foreign policy strategists that the United States ever had. Seize the Moment was President Nixon's next-to-last book, and was published in 1992. This was after the successful end of the Cold War and the first Gulf War, when talking-heads were talking about the "end of history," and/or that America was a declining power that needed to withdraw from world leadership.
In this book, President Nixon argues against these myths, and outlines the course that the United States must take in dealing with the rest of the world. Included are chapters on the former Soviet Union, Europe, the Pacific Triangle, the Muslim world, and the southern hemisphere. However, the best chapter is the final one - The Renewal of America - in which he discusses what needs to be done to renew the United States, and prepare it for the challenges of the future.
Overall, I found this to be a great book, one that really shows off President Nixon's abilities. Indeed, while reading this book I couldn't help but wish that Presidents Clinton and Bush the Younger had read it. This is a very interesting book, one that I highly recommend to anyone who wants to consider where the county is going from here.
World's view of a respectable politian.......2000-12-03
I think the previous review is a little bit unfair. Nixon was certainly an old man when he wrote the book but his mind was clear. Remember he had been there and he knew that it is not pretty in the international arena. Someone said he was a paranoid, but remember that these paranoids exist so that the normal people can be watching their mindless TV and buying their new cars. We don't want to believe that terrible things exist in this world when you are surrounded by the media. Actually it is everyone duty to fight against the "evils (many liberals nowadays considered that as a matter of opionions)." So, please give me a break when you have done nothing for your country but critized a respectable political view from a less-than-perfect politian (should be considered as flawless when compared to Mr. Clinton).
no wonder it's out of print...........2000-06-01
Historically useful but passe, the book is written with a friendly tone of Machiavellian paranoia. The constant emphasis on COMPETITION between superpowers is boyish as well as tedious.
Amazon.com
Gates, director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1991 to 1993, began in an entry level position and rose to the top. His insider's account of the Cold War, CIA operations and the unraveling of the Soviet Union is sprinkled with revelations including the fact that 1983 was the most dangerous year in U.S.-U.S.S.R. relations and that both the CIA and KGB sponsored countless "black operations" designed to embarrass and discredit the other side. Gates also reveals that he secretly met with KGB foreign operations chief Vladimir Kryuchkov on two separate occasions and how the CIA often acted in contempt of Congress. While none of this may come as a huge surprise, it never fails to shock when it's laid out in black and white by someone who was on the inside.
Customer Reviews:
"From the Shadows" by Robert M. Gates.......2007-10-01
Absolutely fascinating! Mr. Gates is an excellent writer and is able to make complicated information easy to follow. And what an insight he gave to the Presidents he worked for; he didn't have an axe to grind with any of them, even though they represented both political parties.
This is a book I enjoyed so completely that I hated to reach the end of it. It will be on my personal "re-read" list. No wonder Mr. Gates was selected to become Secretary of Defense in our nation's hour of need.
Engages the eyes and mind.......2006-11-17
Rarely do you run across a historical book that is so chocked full of names, dates and acronyms that engages your mind as you push to reader faster. Gates delivers great insight wrapped in words that are illustrative of the push and pull of power players - within and between government bodies - domestic and global. If you are curious about the claims of one party or the other concerning the end of the Cold War, then this book will prove to be enlightening. All contributed to the demise, but perhaps none more than the Soviets themselves. Great read. Engaging. Insightful. Illuminating. Perhaps now more than ever before this a read that helps look at the challenges we, as a global community, face today. Buy it. Read it. Gain perspective.
View from the inside.......2006-10-01
The CIA is probably the one institution that the US President controls the most; or so this book argues. Robert M. Gates spent over two decades working at the CIA, and is one of the few career officials who came in near the bottom and rose all the way to the top. This book is his memoir, and recollection of how the CIA served 5 consecutive presidents in the Cold War. Starting with Richard Nixon, and ending with the first George Bush, Gates shows how each president used, and sometimes abused, the CIA to further their policies with regard to the USSR and communist parties around the world.
The major points one gets from this book are as follows. First, Carter was no wimp with regard to the USSR. Second, the most dangerous years of the Cold War did not end with Vietnam; they included some years in the 1980's. Third, the CIA consistently disregards the laws of the US. Fourth, the CIA often gets suckered into doing thing at the whim of the president that it later regrets. Last, the first George Bush was probably one of the best diplomats the US has seen in recent times. Over all, this was a very good book and I am glad I read it.
Intense Reading - great enjoyment.......2002-09-18
Excellent account of what really goes on from the inside of the govt. They say that truth is better than fiction. This is true in a big way in this book. You will recall many of the events in not too distant history. They come alive in this book and history makes more sense. Intense reading - be sure to underline the names to keep track of the huge cast of characters. A big Aggie thumb's up for this one!
Informative but dry.......2002-07-23
Gates had access to some of the most fascinating characters in the history of the Cold War. His observations are incisive and revealing about many of these personalities; however, his book often reads like one might imagine a CIA memo reads, rather dry. The book provides feedback on several important historical instances but it does not go into much depth on any. I do not recommend it as a book used to learn the history of that era. Instead I would read it to gain a further understanding of what went on behind the scenes.
In general, I find Gates to be an interesting character himself. He has some hilarious anecdotes about life in the CIA. Such as when he is walking up the steps of Air Force One and turns to flip off several of the top officials (I think it was) in Romania after they botch his passport. In addition to a often dry sense of humor he also seems to have a great deal of character and integrity.
Average customer rating:
- Two enthusiastic thumbs up!
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Conflict over Convoys: Anglo-American Logistics Diplomacy in the Second World War
Kevin Smith
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0521497256 |
Book Description
Conflict Over Convoys examines the Battle of the Atlantic from the perspective of Anglo-American diplomacy, deepening our understanding of Allied strategy, British industrial decline, and operations TORCH and OVERLORD. Britain's dependence on American ships and logistical support created controversy over the control of military strategy; victory in the Atlantic eventually allowed America to dominate Allied logistics diplomacy. Conflict Over Convoys shows how these tensions reflect the decline of British hegemony and America's rise to global influence.
Download Description
Conflict Over Convoys examines the Battle of the Atlantic from the perspective of Anglo-American diplomacy, deepening our understanding of Allied strategy, British industrial decline, and operations TORCH and OVERLORD. Britain's dependence on American ships and logistical support created controversy over the control of military strategy; victory in the Atlantic eventually allowed America to dominate Allied logistics diplomacy. Conflict Over Convoys shows how these tensions reflect the decline of British hegemony and America's rise to global influence.
Customer Reviews:
Two enthusiastic thumbs up!.......2007-02-25
Ecclesiastes 12:12 does not apply here. Only $39.99? A great stocking-stuffer.
Book Description
Crucible of Power is an updated, revised version of Howard Jones's classic text Quest for Security: A History of U.S. Foreign Relations from 1897. This book, available again for use in the classroom, presents a straightforward, balanced, and c
Customer Reviews:
Crucible of Power.......2007-06-12
Jones' book is presented in a very straight forward fashion. The information is presented extremely well and is easy to understand. I took Dr. Jones' American foreign policy class at the University of Alabama in 2006 and this book was the primary text used in class, obviously. The book goes in depth in issues from the digging of the Panama Canal to the end of the Cold War. His research is well thought out and is a great book for those interested in U.S. diplomatic relations or foreign policy.
mead review.......2007-02-19
The book is great for those interested in history and its interpretation, as well as for the students who study the US foreign policy
Considers wartime and peacetime events and measures.......2001-11-09
Howard Jones' Crucible Of Power is an essential history of American foreign relations from 1897 to modern times, and should be considered a mainstay of any serious history and political science collection. It surveys America's growth from an emerging power in the 1890s to its dominance in modern global events, considering wartime and peacetime events and measures.
Book Description
Despite its status as the world's lone superpower, the United States confronts a variety of serious challenges in the world today: ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, nuclear tensions involving Iran and North Korea, and strained American relations with allies in the European Union and the United Nations. In updating their book, authors Hook and Spanier find that these new developments are in keeping with the overarching theme of their classic text--that there is an American "style" of foreign policy imbued with a distinct sense of national exceptionalism. Through a thorough understanding of the United States' past actions, students can then fully grasp the functions and frequent dysfunctions of the nation's foreign-policy process.
Providing a lively and concise review of the conduct of American foreign policy since World War II, early chapters are strengthened by new historical findings, while recent developments since 9/11 receive thorough treatment and analysis. A stand-alone chapter on the Iraq War provides essential historical context as well as a detailed assessment of recent events across the Middle East. The book's presentation and usefulness are enhanced by new tables and figures, updated photos and maps, and annotated web resources.
Customer Reviews:
The Ultimate Guide to US Foreign Policy.......2005-07-07
Now in its 16th edition, American Foreign Policy Since World War II has become one of the most respected guides on the ins and outs US foreign engagement in the 20th century. Combining theory and insight to this historical perspective, Hook and Spanier have created a very thorough book that takes a balanced look at both the domestic and international issues that have shaped US foreign policy. This book is comprehensive and comprehensible, making it perfect as leisure reading for those interested in international politics or a text for an international relations course. The fourteen chapters:
1. The American Approach to Foreign Policy
2. From World War to Cold War
3. Containment: From Theory to Practice
4. Developing Countries in the Crossfire
5. Vietnam and the Cost of Containment
6. The Era of Superpower Detente
7. Jimmy Carter and World-Order Politics
8. The Revival of Superpower Confrontation
9. The End of the Cold War
10. America's "Unipolar Moment"
11. Old Tensions in a New Order
12. The Shifting European Landscape
13. America under Fire
14. A World of Trouble
are useful individually to address a specific issue, region, or time period, and as a set to provide a broad overview.
Building Blocks.......2005-01-11
Steven W. Hook and John Spanier's book on American foreign policy since WWII is a great introduction for those seeking a detailed yet concise elucidation. The authors exploit all levels of analysis (unit, state, and system), and posit a "peculiar national style" and a degree of continuity as underlying the nature of US foreign policy since 1945. Despite the lucanae bound to be found in a wide-ranging account, Hook and Spanier's book is still an excellent building block for understanding post-WWII US foreign policy as well as basic international relations' theory.
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- American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World
- Ancient Mesopotamia: The Sumerians, Babylonians, And Assyrians (People of the Ancient World)
- And I Haven't Had a Bad Day Since: From the Streets of Harlem to the Halls of Congress
- Appalachian Odyssey: Historical Perspectives on the Great Migration
- Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide, Sixth Edition
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- Basic Geometry of Voting
- Blood Justice (St. Martin's True Crime Library)
- China Cross Talk: The American Debate Over China Policy Since Normalization: A Reader
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Gilded Tarot
- A Guide Book of United states Coins 2007
- The Effects of Economic Adjustment on Poverty in Mexico
- The Prince
- The Sugar Solution: Weight Gain
- A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature
- Wetlands
- Zagatsurvey 2003 Chicago Book 'N' Map Pack
- Stop Getting Dumped! All You Need to Know to Make Men Fall Madly in Love with You and Marry "The One
- Tennessee Business Directory 2000-2001
Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq
The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America
Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East
The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future
