THE MARSHALL PLAN: DAWN OF THE COLD WAR [SIGNED]

Steil, Benn

ISBN 10: 1501102370 / ISBN 13: 9781501102370

Published by Simon & Schuster, New York, 2018

Octavo; xii, 608 pages; VG/VG; spine red with white text; dust jacket protected with mylar; price unclipped reading "$35.00", mild shelfwear to dust jacket, including light scuffing and a white oval sticker to front cover reading "POLITICS & PROSE SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR"; textblock clean; signed flat by Steil on title; black and white photographs at chapter breaks, black and white maps to Appendix C, and two black and white photographic inserts at spreads 210-1 and 306-7; shelved below front counter. 1365425. Shelved Dupont Bookstore. Seller Inventory # 1365425

Synopsis:

Winner of the 2019 New-York Historical Society Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize in American History
Winner of the 2018 American Academy of Diplomacy Douglas Dillon Award
Shortlisted for the 2018 Duff Cooper Prize in Literary Nonfiction
Honorable Mention (runner-up) for the 2019 ASEEES Marshall D. Shulman Prize

The award-winning author of The Battle of Bretton Woods reveals the gripping history behind the Marshall Plan—told with verve, insight, and resonance for today.

In the wake of World War II, with Britain’s empire collapsing and Stalin's on the rise, US officials under new secretary of state George C. Marshall set out to reconstruct western Europe as a bulwark against communist authoritarianism. Their massive, costly, and ambitious undertaking would confront Europeans and Americans alike with a vision at odds with their history and self-conceptions. In the process, they would drive the creation of NATO, the European Union, and a Western identity that continues to shape world events.

Focusing on the critical years 1947 to 1949, Benn Steil’s thrilling account brings to life the seminal episodes marking the collapse of postwar US-Soviet relations—the Prague coup, the Berlin blockade, and the division of Germany. In each case, we see and understand like never before Stalin’s determination to crush the Marshall Plan and undermine American power in Europe.

Given current echoes of the Cold War, as Putin’s Russia rattles the world order, the tenuous balance of power and uncertain order of the late 1940s is as relevant as ever. The Marshall Plan provides critical context into understanding today’s international landscape. Bringing to bear fascinating new material from American, Russian, German, and other European archives, Steil’s account will forever change how we see the Marshall Plan and the birth of the Cold War. A polished and masterly work of historical narrative, this is an instant classic of Cold War literature.

About the Author: Benn Steil is senior fellow and director of international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author of The Marshall Plan: Dawn of the Cold War. His previous book, the prize-winning Battle of Bretton Woods: John Maynard Keynes, Harry Dexter White, and the Making of a New World Order, was called “a triumph of economic and diplomatic history” by the Financial Times, “a superb history” by The Wall Street Journal, and “the gold standard on its subject” by The New York Times. He lives in New York with his wife and two boys.

Bibliographic Details

Title: THE MARSHALL PLAN: DAWN OF THE COLD WAR [...
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, New York
Publication Date: 2018
Binding: Hardcover
Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
Signed: Signed by Author(s)
Edition: First Edition, First Printing.