America's International Relations Since World War I

By Wesley Marvin Bagby

Book Overview

Based on the latest scholarship and newly discovered foreign documents, America's International Relations Since World War I offers a thorough account of American diplomatic history in the 20th century, including coverage of important subjects usually omitted from other texts, such as economic issues and internal development in Russia, the Soviet Union, and China. Organized chronologically, the book avoids taking an interpretive stand on the merits of particular policies, instead offering a political realist interpretation of events. The focus throughout is on the personalities and economic, cultural, and military factors which influence the politics of U.S. foreign policy.
Within the chronological framework, each chapter presents key foreign relations problems addressed by a particular presidential administration, examining them in historical perspective and context, and concludes with a short assessment of the accomplishments, events and problems of that administration. The chapters are cross-referenced topically so students can easily follow a particular subject, such as the Vietnam War, through several administrations. The text also includes a helpful list of recommended readings.
Comprehensive and clearly-written, America's International Relations Since World War I is an ideal companion to history and political science courses alike on contemporary American foreign policy.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195123891
• ISBN13: 9780195123890
• Release Date: December 1999
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Concise

It's concise, easy to read, and has great citations. I hate reading books that have obvious political bias and this avoids it. At times I think the guy is a liberal and other times I think he's a conservative. Most of the time I think he's an unbiased observer. Enjoy!

An important scholarly and popular introduction

Professor Bagby skillfully manages an enviable feat: his book is simultaneously concise, crammed with valuable detail, and eminently readable. It's not only a valuable resource for students and teachers alike, it's thoroughly enjoyable and difficult to put down. But these are merely the stylistic prerequisites. The book's real strengths lie in the material itself. Bagby charts the institutional matrix of interests and authority that determine foreign policy, and how the push and pull of individual personalities affects policy decisions within that framework. In this way, while emphasizing the importance of historical actors, Bagby delineates the institutional constraints on the spectrum of options available to the architects of U.S. foreign policy. He does his readers a great service by engaging the topic beyond conventional pieties while refraining from polemic. The book includes valuable discussions of socio-economic, diplomatic, and strategic relations with allies and enemies alike. Bagby illustrates how these relations produce competing interests and motivations, the management of which constitutes U.S. foreign policy.In addition Bagby summarizes competing scholarly interpretations of key foreign policy engagements, such as the Vietnam War.Most importantly, without reducing his interpretation to a restrictive ideological stance, Bagby spells out the differences, evident in the historical record, between stated foreign policy motives and actual U.S. diplomatic and military practices. This is a remarkable and measured study of the U.S. role on the world stage during "the American Century," a valuable introductory guide to understanding how American foreign policy is constructed and in what manner that policy shapes the world.

Up to date and complete

Up to date and complete If you are looking for a book about American Diplomacy you will surely appreciate this one. It is comprehensive and easy to read. The author has taken great care in avoiding omissions. I learned more American History from this book than I had from volumes before it came to my hands. With impeccable simplicity, the author manages to serve the reader the vast subject of America's International Relations at the White House's table with rich insights. You'll have the impression that you have been actually sitting with the Presidents, when there decisions were made. I could not put Bagby's book down from beginning to end, for it provided me with tools to understand along the history of the world in the Twenties Century. From Wilson to Clinton, Bagby explains the nine different policies of the United States and how they worked to introduce American Democracy and its complications to every single spot of the world. Fantastic!, a book you might want to keep for consultations in your personal bookcase.