Written in 1950, NSC 68 laid out the rationale for American Cold War strategy. This volume includes the complete text of NSC 68, followed by commentaries from former officials, specialists on American foreign policy, and American and foreign scholars. Ernest May's analytical essays discuss the many ways in which this historical document can be read, remembered, and understood.
Ernest R. May is one of the leading diplomatic historians in the United States. He is the Charles Warren Professor of History at Harvard University, where he has taught for over three decades and served as dean of Harvard College, director of the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government, and chair of the History Department. In 1988 he won the Gravemeyer Award for Ideas Contributing to World Order. Among his many books, the most recent are Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision Makers, and The Making of the Monroe Doctrine. He is also the advisory editor to the Bedford Books in American History series.