From Isolation To War 1931 - 1941

This well-written and informative text describes the major events and historiographical controversies in American diplomacy in the years between the two world wars. Covered in detail are such matters as the background of U.S. isolationism, Pacific diplomacy in the 1920s, the Manchurian Crisis, the Ethiopian War, the Spanish Civil War, the neutrality acts, and the debate over intervention in 1939-1941.

Topics new to the second edition include the recognition of the Soviet Union, rejection of the World Court, the blocking of Jewish immigration, Munich, the Hitler-Stalin pact, and the polemics of isolationist ideology. Also new is an entire chapter that includes a discussion of U.S.-Japanese relations in the 1930s and a close consideration of the economic, political, and historical pressures that forced the island empire's decision to act. The book concludes with a delineation of revisionist arguments, including the "Devil theory" of FDR's culpability, and provides the insight of modern historians in a consideration of Roosevelt's leadership and the true focus of American diplomacy in the 1930s.

"From Isolation to War is a balanced and intelligent book well-suited to students and teachers of American diplomatic history. All readers will delight in the vividness of the authors' writing. Their account of the attack on Pearl Harbor, told from the Japanese point of view, is a model of narrative history: even though you know what's going to happen, the story is still suspenseful. Those who find most history books dry and lifeless ought to give this one a try."--Andrew J. Rotter, Colgate University