William Appleman Williams : Learning from History

Williams' controversial volumes, The Tragedy of AmericanDiplomacy, Contours of American History, and other works have established him as the foremost interpreter of US foreign policy. Both Williams and others deeply influenced by him have recast not only diplomatic history but also the story of pioneer America's westward movement, and studies in the culture of imperialism.

At the end of the Cold War, when the US no longer faces any great enemy, the lessons of William Appleman Williams' life and scholarship have become more urgent than ever before. This study of his life and major works offers readers an opportunity to introduce, or re-introduce, themselves to a major figure of the last half-century.

Paul Buhle is currently a Visiting Scholar at the American Civilization Department of Brown University. He has written, edited or co-edited twenty books including studies of radicalism, labor, ethnicity, and Jewish history. He is co-editor of The American Radical (Routledge, 1994). Edward Rice-Maximin has taught at, among other places, the Rhode Island School of Design and Rutgers University, Camden. He has previously written on William Appleman Williams for Dissent, the Village Voice, and The American Radical (Routledge, 1994).