Crucible of Power: A History of American Foreign Relations from 1897 / Edition 2

by Howard Jones research professory, Univ

Overview

In this updated edition of Crucible of Power, Howard Jones draws on his remarkable breadth as a historian of U.S. foreign relations to produce a distinguished survey of America's growth from an emerging power in the 1890s to its present day position of global preeminence. Comprehensive, tempered, and highly accessible, Jones demonstrates the complexities facing U.S. policy makers and the limitations on their actions. The balanced and thoughtful approach to controversial issues and situations makes this book exceptional for classroom use.

This new edition includes a number of revisions and additions aimed at making the volume more attractive to students, teachers, and general readers. A new final chapter brings the story of America's foreign relations as close to the present as possible by focusing on President George W. Bush and his dealing with 9/11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Global War on Terrorism. Among other changes, new materials on the Bay of Pigs invasion reveal the CIA's collaboration with the Mafia in trying to assassinate Fidel Castro as the spark setting off a popular insurrection. Also new to this edition: Every chapter now has at least one excerpt from a key document of the period, thus allowing the reader to examine historical evidence firsthand in hopes of providing a feel for the period involved, promoting an understanding of history through the eyes of its participants, and showing how the historian determines the important facts relevant to reconstructing a meaningful narrative.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742558267
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	03/20/2008
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	638
Product dimensions:	7.11(w) x 10.05(h) x 1.47(d)

About the Author

Howard Jones is research professor in the Department of History at the University of Alabama. A recipient of both the John F. Burnum Distinguished Faculty Award for teaching and research and the Blackmon-Moody Outstanding Professor Award, he teaches courses in American foreign relations and the U.S.-Vietnam War.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: U.S. Imperialism and the New Manifest Destiny, 1897–1900
Chapter 2: Theodore Roosevelt and the Search for World Order, 1900–1913
Chapter 3: Woodrow Wilson and Missionary Diplomacy: Prologue to U.S. Entry into World War I, 1913–1917
Chapter 4: World War I and the League of Nations, 1917–1921
Chapter 5: The Independent Internationalism of the United States, 1921–1933
Chapter 6: The Coming of World War II, 1933–1939
Chapter 7: From Europe to Pearl Harbor, 1939–1941
Chapter 8: Wartime Diplomacy and the Origins of the Cold War, 1941–1945
Chapter 9: Cold War and Containment in Europe and the Near East, 1945–1950
Chapter 10: Cold War and Containment in East Asia, 1950–1953
Chapter 11: Containment Continued: The Eisenhower Years, 1953–1961
Chapter 12: Containment at the Brink: Kennedy and Cuba, 1961–1963
Chapter 13: Containment in Collapse: Johnson and Vietnam, 1963–1969
Chapter 14: Vietnamization through Détente: A New Containment, 1969–1977
Chapter 15: The New World Order: Jimmy Carter and the Diplomacy of Human Rights, 1977–1981
Chapter 16: Cold War II: Reagan and the Revival of Containment, 1981–1989
Chapter 17: The End of the Cold War and Regional Conflicts, 1989–2001
Chapter 18: President George W. Bush and Missionary Diplomacy: 9/11, the Pre-Emptive War with Iraq, and the Global War on Terrorism, 2001–

What People are Saying About This

Thomas M. Leonard

A readable and comprehensive survey of American foreign policy from the time of independence to the eve of World War I.
— Thomas M. Leonard, Distinguised Professor, University of North Florida

Lawrence S. Kaplan

This well-written and well-balanced book merits the attention of all students of American foreign relations.
— Lawrence S. Kaplan, Georgetown University

Editorial Reviews

Straightforward and direct, Crucible of Power provides students with an accessible means of gaining entry into the history of U.S. foreign relations.

Mark T. Gilderhus

Howard Jones draws on his remarkable breadth as a historian of U.S. foreign relations to produce a distinguished survey of America's growth as an emerging power in the 1890s to its present-day position of global preeminence. His exposition is precise; his sources, exhaustive; his illustrations, revealing.

Richard H. Immerman

In a volume characteristic of his broad-ranging and important scholarship on U.S. foreign relations, Professor Jones has written a comprehensive, tempered, and highly accessible narrative account of the nation's twentieth-century international involvements.

Joseph A. Fry

Praise for First Edition: In a volume characteristic of his broad-ranging and important scholarship on U.S. foreign relations, Professor Jones has written a comprehensive, tempered, and highly accessible narrative account of the nation's twentieth-century international involvements.--Fry, Joseph A.

Praise for First Edition: Howard Jones draws on his remarkable breadth as a historian of U.S. foreign relations to produce a distinguished survey of America's growth as an emerging power in the 1890's to its present-day position of global preeminence. His exposition is precise; his sources, exhaustive; his illustrations, revealing.--Robert H. Immerman

Praise for First Edition: Straightforward and direct, Crucible of Power provides students with an accessible means of gaining entry into the history of U.S. foreign relations.--Mark T. Gilderhus

From the Publisher

Jones (history, U. of Alabama) demonstrates the complexities of the decision-making process that led to the rise and decline of the US relative to the ascent of other nations in world power status. He focuses on the personalities, security interests, and expansionist tendencies. The approach is narrative, he says, because a thematic approach would impose a design on events that did not exist. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews