Description
Book SynopsisProminent historian Justus Doenecke analyzes the personalities, leading action groups, and major congressional debates surrounding the U.S. decision to participate in World War II.
Trade ReviewStorm on the Horizon is the most objective, comprehensive, and authoritative account of isolationism in the great debate before Pearl Harbor. In view of today's controversy about 'unilateralism,' there is all the more reason to take a fresh look at the unilateralists of 1939–1941. -- Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
This exhaustive, penetrating study should demonstrate once and for all that FDR's foreign policy opponents prior to Pearl Harbor were not simply 'illustrious dunderheads' or ostriches blind to international dangers. As prophetic critics of both the imperial presidency and unrestrained globalism, Doenecke's noninterventionists may have lost the 'great debate' over U.S. entry into World War II, but they still speak to subsequent generations as alternative voices from a usable American past. -- J. Garry Clifford, University of Connecticut
Professor Doenecke's new book, Storm on the Horizon, is by far the most inclusive work on pre-war isolationism ever written. Meticulously researched, easily read, and most informative, it is bound to become the standard study of this subject. -- Hans L. Trefousse, The City University of New York
As Storm on the Horizon amply demonstrates, Justus Doenecke knows more about the so-called isolationists of the pre-World War II era than any other living historian. This comprehensive and even-handed book on opposition to American intervention should remain the standard account for generations. -- Leo P. Ribuffo, author of The Old Christian Right
Eloquently argued and exhaustively documented, Storm on the Horizon traces the principles and practices of the non-interventionists from 1939 to the Pearl Harbor attack. While war ended their opposition, Justus Doenecke, as no scholar before him, demonstrates the logic and resolve of their lost crusade. -- Irwin F. Gellman, author of Secret Affairs and The Contender: Richard Nixon, The Congress Years, 1946-1952
In this extraordinarily well-researched and comprehensive study, Professor Justus Doenecke examines the intellectual underpinnings of the American anti-interventionist movement of 1939–1941. Although much has been written about the bitter isolationist/interventionist controversy before America's entry into World War II, no one has ever systematically analyzed the anti-interventionists' mindset, motivating ideology, and prejudices. . . . Justus Doenecke fills this gap. -- George H. Nash, author of
The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945
Doenecke, a respected historian of the U.S. tradition of isolationism, provides an exhaustive record of the most important episode in that tradition—1939-1941. This important work should spur fresh and much needed debate over that entry into war and the larger anti-interventionist tradition in recent American history. -- Walter LaFeber
Justus Doenecke's study of ideological dimensions of anti-interventionist opposition to American entry into World War II is exhaustively researched, broadly conceived, clearly organized, well-written, and balanced in its analyses. It is a superb scholarly accomplishment. -- Wayne S. Cole
Like Doenecke's previous books, this work demonstrates solid scholarship. * Library Journal *
Thanks to Doenecke's meticulous research, Storm on the Horizon is likely to become the standard work on the noninterventionist movement of 1939–1941. More importantly, it is to be hoped that it will reopen scholarly discussion about a vein of American opinion that has been too quickly dismissed. -- John Moser * H-Diplo Reviews *
This book should be read by serious students of U.S. political and diplomatic history of the 1930s and '40s. Recommended for graduate students, faculty, and all research libraries. * CHOICE *
A compelling and informative history of how America became entangled in Europe's political and military struggles prior to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Doenecke combines painstaking and meticulous historical research with perceptive insights and an ability to engage the reader's total attention. Storm on the Horizon is particularly recommended reading for students of 20th Century American history, World War II, and the role of the Roosevelt administration in dealing with American isolationist sentiments. * The Bookwatch *
Storm on the Horizon is marked by Doenecke's unsurpassed familiarity with the relevant archives and by his rare and refreshing objectivity. . . . Also indicative of the richness of the book are the frequent fascinating tidbits Doenecke serves up. . . . Storm On the Horizon is a work of outstanding scholarship. Sudents of the greatest anitwar movement in American history, revisionists and nonrevisionists alike, are permanently in Justus Doenecke's debt. -- Ralph Raico * The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy *
Storm on the Horizon shows extraordinarily wide and deep research. * Intelligence and National Security *
The book is thoroughly researched, exhaustively documented, and even-handed in its approach. * Journal of American History *
A treasure of source material. -- John D. Chappell * American Historical Review *
A raconteur of non-interventionist lore, Doenecke unearths a staggering number of sources, and sufficient biographies, stories, and vignettes to make one wonder if he ever sleeps. Doenecke's major contribution is placing the debate on U.S. intervention within an unfolding, day-by-day context. -- Geoffrey S. Smith * International History Review *
For years, Justus Doenecke has challenged negative conclusions about the anti-interventionists. Storm on the Horizon is his latest and most comprehensive work on these individuals. It is also his most impressive such effort, the first major and full study of the anti-interventionists since Wayne Cole's 1983 Roosevelt and the Isolationists, and a worthy recipient of the Herbert Hoover Book Award of the Hoover Presidential Library Association for 2000. -- Mark A. Stoler * Diplomatic History *
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction: The Many Mansions of Anti-interventionism Chapter 2 War, Phony and Real Chapter 3 Early Hopes for Peace Chapter 4 A Matter of War Aims Chapter 5 American Goals: An Object of Suspicion Chapter 6 Initial Engagements Chapter 7 The Fall of Western Europe Chapter 8 Protecting the Republic Chapter 9 Military Defense of the Hemisphere Chapter 10 Economic Survival in the Americas Chapter 11 War, Peace, and Elections Chapter 12 Lend-Lease and the "Future War" Chapter 13 A Troubled Spring Chapter 14 Great Britain: An Unfit Ally Chapter 15 The British Empire: A Dubious Cause Chapter 16 The Soviets: A Greater Enemy Chapter 17 A Pivotal Summer Chapter 18 Projections of Conflict Chapter 19 Waging Undeclared War Chapter 20 The Domestic Front Chapter 21 The Asian Cauldron Chapter 22 Towards the Pacific War Chapter 23 Conclusion
