This book, as the title suggests, deals with American foreign policy since 1938. It is concerned with the more prominent features of the American foreign policy, as well as events that gave rise to changes in it. More specifically, it covers "The Twisting Path to War" in its opening chapter, the Second World War itself, and the Cold War and its after courses, up till the end of the twentieth century. The bulk of the book has to do with the Cold War, with thirteen out of the eighteen chapters in total dedicated to American foreign policy during that period (1945-1991).
In general, the layout is simple, without any unnecessary frills or cumbersome addenda. Each chapter starts with a significant quotation which encapsulates its essence, or the relatively urgent issues at that point in history. By significant, I do not mean famous or well-known. Rather, the quotations always seem to be selected with the express purpose of provoking interest, or triggering a contemplative process, in the reader.
[...] They use Stalin's quote on the issue of national security: “Poland borders on the Soviet Union which cannot be said about Great Britain or the USA The Soviet Union was not consulted when those Governments [the governments in Greece and Belgium] were being formed, nor did it claim the right to interfere in those matters, because it realizes how important Belgium and Greece are to the security of Great Britain.” All in all, this book will be useful for readers who want a general overview of American foreign policy and relevant events from 1938 to the closing years of the last century. It addresses issues adequately, and seldom, if ever at all, fails to elucidate complexities. Its limits lie in the specificities of events. Hence for further in-depth study it would be better to read other materials for an introduction to American foreign policy, though, this book will not disappoint you. [...]
[...] It is concerned with the more prominent features of the American foreign policy, as well as events that gave rise to changes in it. More specifically, it covers Twisting Path to in its opening chapter, the Second World War itself, and the Cold War and its aftercourses, up till the end of the twentieth century. The bulk of the book has to do with the Cold War, with thirteen out of the eighteen chapters in total dedicated to American foreign policy during that period (1945-1991). [...]
[...] However, because each chapter is lengthy, the interest that is clinched at the beginning of each chapter may wane. It is true that the chapters are divided into sections according to issue, but even so each section still remains long. But this is what makes certain episodes in the book especially enjoyable. An example is the Potsdam Conference: . Churchill said the question of Suez had not been raised. Molotov retorted, “I'm raising Churchill explained that the British had operated Suez for some seventy years without complaints. [...]
[...] We are told that the Cold War was also a war of words we now know why. The language of the book is simple and readable, even accessible. Nonetheless it succeeds in expounding the essential complications succinctly. The authors write in a reader-friendly narrative style, and only occasionally offer their opinions outright. From this one can surmise that it is their intention to keep the narration of events as objective as possible, so as to maintain a historian's credibility in the retelling of history. [...]
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