IDEAS AND DIPLOMACY

by Norman A.- Ed. Graebner ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Three ""Readings in the Intellectual Tradition of American Foreign Policy"" begin with Den Franklin urging Mother England to acquire Canada from France in 1760; they conclude with Senator Fulbright's celebrated speech in the Senate a few months ago, decrying the lack of imagination and flexibility in our dealings with Communist countries. Needless to say, the journey in between is as fascinating as it is long and cirouitous. Even though the approach here is ""conceptual rather than narrative,"" the scope is at once broad and detailed enough to comprise a ""genuine intellectual history of American diplomacy,"" as the editor claims. His primary assumption is that there have been two fundamental competing attitudes from the beginning, the one conservative or pragmatic, the other ideological or idealistic, and it is in this light that his choices should be judged. This means that most, if not all, of what seems like an impenetrable jungle of inconsistent behavior becomes traversible. This is finely edited, and whether one regards this as a good collection of crucial documents or as a brilliant oxposition of an interesting viewpoint, it is a very worthwhile book.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Oxford

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION