Wars and Peace: The Future Americans Envisioned, 1861-1991 - Hardcover

NA, NA

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312213522 ISBN 13: 9780312213527

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 1998

Synopsis

Wars and Peace is a historical look at how Americans have tried to conceptualize peace during five national security crises: The Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. Mayers examines the intellectual foundations of U.S. foreign policy since 1861 and analyzes the way that Americans, across the political spectrum and in times of conflict, have conceptualized the eras that would follow hostilities. Mayers looks at history in terms of a current problem: How should the United States fashion its policy in the post-Cold War world? What is striking about previous attempts to impose order on a postwar world, Mayers reveals, is that they failed to fulfill the hopes of their authors. Yet the cumulative impact of these ideas has been to shape the collective imagination in America. Mayers argues that U.S. purpose remains unchanged and like that of every nation: to survive and to prosper.

About this title

About the Author:

David Mayers holds a joint appointment in the History and Political Science departments at Boston University. Among his previous books is The Ambassadors and America's Soviet Policy, winner of the 1995 book prize of the American Academy of Diplomacy.

From Library Journal:

Boston University history and political science professor Mayers examines the supporting ideologies surrounding U.S. foreign policy from the Civil War to the present. He gives particular emphasis to the Civil War itself, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and the post-Cold War era. The picture offered is often a mixture of high ideals followed by the failure to bring these ideals to full fruition in the give-and-take of reality. In addition to providing an interesting historical summary, Mayers's book also offers valuable insights into the current state of U.S. foreign policy. It is well written and argued and can be generally recommended for most libraries.?Scott K. Wright, Univ. of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0312213522
• ISBN 13: 9780312213527
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192