The U.S.A. Astride the Globe

THE U. S. A. ASTRIDE THE GLOBE, Merlo J. Pusey, hardcover with a dust jacket (not price-clipped), 1971. BOOK CONDITION: near fine. The text block is in fine condition with no dog-ears, tears, or marks. There is no bookplate nor signature of a prior owner. This is not a library book nor a remainder. The red cloth boards are in very good condition (lightly bumped corners and spine). Tight binding. The dust jacket is in fairly good condition (edge chipping, one-inch square piece missing from top of back cover, faded spine). 8 ½ x 6, 247 pages, 17 ounces. [From the dust jacket] Since the end of the Second World War, the United States of America has made itself a global policeman through a series of extravagant and often senseless commitments. A complex of 450 American military bases spreads over most of the world, many of them created by the President at the request of the Pentagon and without benefit of the advice or consent of the Congress. Taking a close look at the function of these bases and the effect they have had on world opinion, Merlo Pusey finds that, far from being bastions of defense and peace, they have been the cause of international misunderstanding and resentment and sometimes of war. This flexing of military muscle has produced the long-standing (though unacknowledged) war in Laos, the support of a brutal regime in Greece, an overbearing presence in Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, the Philippines, and Turkey as well as the dubious advantages of a close affiliation with the Franco government in Spain. It has also succeeded in estranging the sympathies of some of our natural friends and allies. In a clear, well-reasoned argument, Mr. Pusey points out the dangers of our present course and advocates changes of policy that would avoid unilateral action in areas where our interests are marginal. He questions the wisdom of defensive alliances with repressive regimes that are anathema to their own people. He offers specific proposals for withdrawing from bases not essential to our national interest or security, and fostering trade, cultural relations, and peaceful methods of settling disputes. MERLO J. PUSEY is an Associate Editor of the Washington Post and the author of several distinguished books including Big Government: Can We Control It?, Eisenhower The President, and The Way We Go to War. In 1952 he was awarded both the Pulitzer and Bancroft Prizes for his biography of Charles Evans Hughes.…