Mr. X and the Pacific: George F. Kennan and American Policy in East Asia

by Paul J. Heer

Overview

George F. Kennan is well known as the preeminent American expert on the Soviet Union during the Cold War and the author of the doctrine of containment. In Mr. X and the Pacific, Paul J. Heer chronicles and assesses Kennan's work in affecting US policy toward East Asia.

Heer traces the origins, development, and bearing of Kennan's strategic perspective on the Far East during his time as director of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff from 1947 to 1950. The author follows Kennan's career and evolution of his thinking as he subsequently became a prominent critic of American participation in the Vietnam War.

Mr. X and the Pacific offers readers a new view of Kennan, revealing his importance and the totality of his role in East Asia policy, his struggle with American foreign policy in the region, and the ways in which Kennan's legacy still has implications for how the United States approaches the region in the twenty-first century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501711176
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	05/15/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Paul J. Heer is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He is a veteran analyst of East Asia and spent three decades within the US intelligence community.

What People are Saying About This

Frank Costigliola

Until Mr. X and the Pacific, no historian has adequately examined Kennan’s beliefs and strategies about East Asia. Paul J. Heer has impressively addressed that need by tracing Kennan’s sometimes iconoclastic and always well-argued ideas about this vital region. This is a necessary book for readers interested in the Cold War in Asia as well as Kennan’s interests beyond the Soviet Union.

Hal Brands

Paul J. Heer has made an important contribution to Kennan-ology and the study of American statecraft in the early Cold War. As the United States approaches present-day problems of Asia-Pacific security, U.S. officials would benefit from reading Mr. X and the Pacific for an insightful take on the origins of America's postwar primacy in the region.

J. Stapleton Roy

This fascinating book by Paul J. Heer is a must-read for anyone interested in American foreign policy. In Mr. X and the Pacific, Heer provides invaluable insights into the thought processes of George Kennan, one of America's most renowned strategic thinkers.

Editorial Reviews

There has been no monograph focusing solely on Kennan's role in formulating U.S. Cold War policy in Asia, until Paul Heer's Mr. X and the Pacific. Heer's study meticulously traces Kennan's views of Asian countries and evaluates positive and negative legacies of Kennan's policy recommendations on the region.

Pacific Historical Review

Although known primarily as a Sovietologist, Kennan played a vital role in early Cold War US policy in East Asia, primarily with respect to the Chinese civil war and US policy in occupied Japan. Those several years are the primary focus of intelligence analyst-cum-scholar Paul Heer's meticulous and well-balanced critical study of Kennan's involvement in US East Asia policy.

PACIFIC AFFAIRS

Meticulously researched and well-crafted.... Paul Heer’s insightful look into George Kennan’s views of the region during the early years of the Cold War can help us better understand and cope with the geopolitical challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

Asian Review of Books

Heer's work is clearly written, widely researched, fair and balanced in its assessments, and a valuable contribution to our understanding of the influence of, and contradictory ideas sometimes held by, one of the most important foreign policymakers in the twentieth century. The organization by theme or nation works well due both to the nature of the material and to Heer's brief yet clear reminders of how one topic fits into another when appropriate. Also, although begun in the 1990s, as Heer explains in his opening, the work is quite timely. In the current international environment, a study that examines warnings against miscalculating America's interests, if not also capabilities, in East Asia is a welcome reminder that such miscalculations can often have serious and lasting ramifications for both the United States and the people in the region.

H-Diplo

[W]hat Heer has done in Mr. X and the Pacific is a success. His sober narrative proves worthy of his subject's powerful intellect in its careful analysis of the nuances of the historical record.

Journal of American-East Asian Relations

There are insightful references to Kennan's hopes for reconciliation with Japan and China and much detail on Kennan's frustrations with US strategy changes in the Pacific and with Dean Acheson's replacing George Marshall as secretary of state.

Choice

Mr. X and the Pacific sheds light on how containment applied to East Asia... For those who are interested in US grand strategy in East Asia, especially in the era of the Cold War, this book is a must read.

H-War

Mr. X and the Pacific sheds light on how containment applied to East Asia... For those who are interested in US grand strategy in East Asia, especially in the era of the Cold War, this book is a must read.

-- "H-War"

[W]hat Heer has done in Mr. X and the Pacific is a success. His sober narrative proves worthy of his subject's powerful intellect in its careful analysis of the nuances of the historical record.

-- "Journal of American-East Asian Relations"

Although known primarily as a Sovietologist, Kennan played a vital role in early Cold War US policy in East Asia, primarily with respect to the Chinese civil war and US policy in occupied Japan. Those several years are the primary focus of intelligence analyst-cum-scholar Paul Heer's meticulous and well-balanced critical study of Kennan's involvement in US East Asia policy.

-- "PACIFIC AFFAIRS"

Heer's work is clearly written, widely researched, fair and balanced in its assessments, and a valuable contribution to our understanding of the influence of, and contradictory ideas sometimes held by, one of the most important foreign policymakers in the twentieth century. The organization by theme or nation works well due both to the nature of the material and to Heer's brief yet clear reminders of how one topic fits into another when appropriate. Also, although begun in the 1990s, as Heer explains in his opening, the work is quite timely. In the current international environment, a study that examines warnings against miscalculating America's interests, if not also capabilities, in East Asia is a welcome reminder that such miscalculations can often have serious and lasting ramifications for both the United States and the people in the region.

-- "H-Diplo"

Meticulously researched and well-crafted.... Paul Heer's insightful look into George Kennan's views of the region during the early years of the Cold War can help us better understand and cope with the geopolitical challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

-- "Asian Review of Books"

There are insightful references to Kennan's hopes for reconciliation with Japan and China and much detail on Kennan's frustrations with US strategy changes in the Pacific and with Dean Acheson's replacing George Marshall as secretary of state.

-- "Choice"

There has been no monograph focusing solely on Kennan's role in formulating U.S. Cold War policy in Asia, until Paul Heer's Mr. X and the Pacific. Heer's study meticulously traces Kennan's views of Asian countries and evaluates positive and negative legacies of Kennan's policy recommendations on the region.

-- "Pacific Historical Review"

From the Publisher

Mr. X and the Pacific sheds light on how containment applied to East Asia... For those who are interested in US grand strategy in East Asia, especially in the era of the Cold War, this book is a must read.

H-Net H-War

"Until Mr. X and the Pacific, no historian has adequately examined Kennan’s beliefs and strategies about East Asia. Paul J. Heer has impressively addressed that need by tracing Kennan’s sometimes iconoclastic and always well-argued ideas about this vital region. This is a necessary book for readers interested in the Cold War in Asia as well as Kennan’s interests beyond the Soviet Union."

Frank Costigliola

"This fascinating book by Paul J. Heer is a must-read for anyone interested in American foreign policy.In Mr. X and the Pacific, Heer provides invaluable insights into the thought processes of George Kennan, one of America's most renowned strategic thinkers."

J. Stapleton Roy

"Paul J. Heer has made an important contribution to Kennan-ology and the study of American statecraft in the early Cold War.As the United States approaches present-day problems of Asia-Pacific security, U.S. officials would benefit from reading Mr. X and the Pacific for an insightful take on the origins of America's postwar primacy in the region."

Hal Brands

"As Paul J Heer notes in his meticulously researched and well-crafted book Mr. X and the Pacific, Kennan had briefly ventured into East Asia policy analysis while lecturing at the National War College in 1946.... Paul Heer’s insightful look into George Kennan’s views of the region during the early years of the Cold War can help us better understand and cope with the geopolitical challenges and opportunities of the 21st century."

asian review of books