The American Age 2: United States Foreign Policy at Home & Abroad Since 1896

by Walter F. LaFeber

In the Second Edition, LaFeber has revised nearly every chapter in the book. In the early chapters, there is more attention to the origins of foreign policy institutions and practices, including precedents for the executive agreement, and new discussions of U.S. relations with Britain in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The more recent chapters feature fresh insights on Potsdam, the origins of the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis―all based on new evidence drawn from Soviet archives. The new edition amply covers the momentous events that brought the Cold War to an end and thrust the United States into the uncertain position of the world’s only superpower. In this leading text, Walter LaFeber offers a comprehensive history of American foreign relations from the mid-eighteenth century to the present. His narrative account features several major themes: the connections between U.S. foreign policy and domestic politics; the impact of American economic development on foreign policy interests; popular culture, particularly film, as a filter for public opinion on American commitments abroad; the roles of public opinion, leadership, and bureaucracy in the formation of policy.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History, International Relations, United States, School

672 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

One of the foremost scholars of American foreign policy, Walter Fredrick LaFeber was the Andrew H. and James S. Tisch Distinguished University Professor in the Department of History at Cornell University. Previous to that he served as the Marie Underhill Noll Professor of History and a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow at Cornell.

Reviews

[Ian Lazarenko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Walter F. LaFeber is a widely respected scholar on America's diplomatic history with a laudatory knowledge of the Cold War. This knowledge is evident enough in "The American Age," but is not independent of some rather damning flaws. Of these, the most evident is simply the age of the book; at over twenty-four years old, "The American Age" suffers from lack of access to the Soviet archives many scholars have fawned over since the collapse of the U.S.S.R. This limits the book's perspective to a naively-Western one. This is the second fault: despite the majority of understanding seemingly coming from Western sources, LaFeber is rather quick to denounce any and all American activity as rash and counter-productive. It is no secret that American diplomatic history is riddled with trial and error, but labeling nearly every executive decision as hubris is faulty. With the knowledge of Stalin's genocides against ethnic minorities or the brutal repression of liberal activity in the occupied states of Eastern Europe, are American actions not allowed to be weighed against this alternative?

[S. Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a pleasure to read. It's a well researched, wonderfully written overview of US diplomatic history, but best of all, it's not like reading a history textbook. LaFeber includes just the right details to bring these characters from history back to life.

[Leon Franklin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book about the american external politics since its formation as a state until the end of Reegan era. A good document to help us understand the today politics.

[Richie Richs · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice book!!