Acheson; The Secretary of State Who Created the American World
Douglas Baz (author photograph) and Yousef Karsh ( New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. First Printing. Hardcover. 25 cm. 512 pages. Illustrations. Map. References. Index. DJ somewhat worn and soiled, pencil erasure on front endpaper, front DJ flap price clipped. James Clarke Chace (October 16, 1931 – October 8, 2004) was an American historian, writing on American diplomacy and statecraft. His 12 books include the critically acclaimed Acheson: The Secretary of State Who Created the American World (1998). His writings often influenced American thought in policymaking — his coining of the phrase "the indispensable nation" with Sidney Blumenthal to describe America. Chace graduated from Harvard University. He was sent to France and in 1955 and 1956 worked as an Army translator, which involved the translation of French newspapers for the CIA. After his return to the United States his interest in foreign policy grew as he served as managing editor for East Europe, a review of Soviet bloc affairs, from 1959 to 1969, during which time he wrote his book Conflict in the Middle East about the Six-Day War. He served as the managing editor of Interplay (1967–1970) and Foreign Affairs (1970–1983). He became editor of the World Policy Journal in 1993, where he served for 7 years. In 1990, he was appointed Professor of Government at Bard College. Chace's work focused on American statesmanship, the interplay of American interests with American values, and the use of American power. He believed that any statesman effectively leading a nation will understand that resources are limited — including blood and political will—and that in protecting the interests of the nation those resources cannot be overtaxed. A definitive biography describes the personal and political life of Dean Acheson, who, in tandem with President Harry S. Truman, created the American force that won the Cold War and established a world order still in existence today. This was the first complete biography of Dean Acheson (1893-1974), who served as Truman's Secretary of State from 1949 to 1953. Derived from a Kirkus review: An intelligent, meticulously researched biography of Dean Acheson (1893—1971), who as Harry Truman’s secretary of state became “the most important figure in American foreign policy since John Quincy Adams.” With aristocratic hauteur, decisiveness, command of facts, and biting wit, Acheson could face down dictators, rabid right-wingers, and American presidents. Only now, however, with the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the opening of US and Soviet files, can a proper assessment be made of his achievements. Drawing on these and other sources, Chace provides an evenhanded appraisal. An accomplished lawyer, Acheson came into his own as assistant secretary of state for Franklin Roosevelt, when he played a key role in shaping the Lend Lease and Bretton Woods accords. Chace throws the last pile of dirt on revisionist historians’ contention that Acheson helped precipitate the Cold War, noting that he sought to reach agreement with Josef Stalin until Soviet designs on Europe forced him into pursuing containment. Under Truman, Acheson helped formulate the Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine and, in what Chace sees as his lasting legacy, brought West Germany into NATO, thus preventing a major continental land war for the last half of the century. While admiring Acheson’s achievements, Chace also notes that his shrill rhetoric encouraged successors global containment schemes, which this Eurocentric, pragmatic statesman never intended, and that his policies in Asia were less sure-footed than his policies in Europe. He became vulnerable to GOP attacks because of his refusal to condemn Alger Hiss and America’s loss of China, yet he retained the unstinting support of Truman. As an elder statesman, Acheson urged John Kennedy to order limited air strikes during the Cuban missile crisis and turned against the Vietnam War as one of Lyndon Johnson’s wise men. A skillful biography of one member of a species now seemingly headed toward extinction in Washington: a government titan of remarkable achievement, eloquence, loyalty, and integrity. Condition: Very good / Good.
Keywords: Harry Truman, Dean Acheson, George Kennan, Cabinet Officers, Cold War, State Department, Foreign Relations, George C. Marshall, Korean War, Atomic Bomb, Cuban Missile Crisis, NATO, United Nations, Vietnam War
ISBN: 0684808439
[Book #36041]
Price: $37.50