Description
Book SynopsisBetween 1945 and 1968, the possibility of Mutual Assured Destruction led to a host of odd realities, including the creation of an affable cartoon turtle named Bert who taught millions of school children that nuclear war was survivable if they simply learned how to “duck and cover.” Meanwhile, fear of Communism played out against the backdrop of potential Armageddon to provide justification for a variety of covert operations involving regime change, political assassination, and sometimes bizarre plot twists. United States Foreign Policy 1945-1968: The Bomb, Spies, Stories, and Lies takes a fresh look at this complex, often confusing, and frequently farcical period in American and world history.
Trade Review“United States Foreign Policy 1945-1968 is a lucid, comprehensive account of this critical period in the history of the world. The author takes an even-handed approach to the volatile issues that unfolded during the Cold War, with the extensive bibliography reflects the wide-ranging primary and secondary sources on which the author relies.” -- William R. Keylor, Boston University
“The Cold War was as much a set of stories as it was a ‘scientific outcome' of structures and great power politics. Historian Michael Santos has written a beautifully textured analysis of the most important stories that shaped international relations in the second half of the 20th century. This is a book brimming with fresh insight about how people, decisions, beliefs, and convictions about the nature of experience came together in a mix that continues to frame the stories we tell about world politics today.” -- Steven Weber, University of California at Berkeley
Table of ContentsI The Unsatisfying Nature of Satisficing II Endings and Beginnings: Factors Shaping the Narrative III Competing Challenges in an Uncertain World IV Enemies From Within and From Without V One Step Forward, One Step Back VI Caught in the Middle VII Things Are Seldom What They Seem VIII Persisting Problems on the New Frontier IX Assumptions vs. Realities X To the Edge of Armageddon and Back Again XI Down the Rabbit Hole XII Hot Spots Beyond Vietnam XIII Rationalizing Away Qualms XIV A Matter of Sovereignty XV Looking Back Across Twenty-Three Years
