Walter LaFeber - Böcker

Standing as a tribute to Fred Harrington of Wisconsin-Madison University, this book argues that in the last 100 years, United States presidents have received foreign policy advice from government servants who define world views for them, not only advising but often taking action to implement them.

Through a wide variety of documents—including newly opened presidential papers, congressional debates, military reports, treaties, and newspaper articles—the authors trace the origins of the war back to pre–World War II attitudes and then proceed through the development of the "domino theory" and the policies of Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon to the fall of South Vietnam in 1975.Each of the editors has written an introductory essay to place the documents in heir historical context. These essays explore the controversial questions raised by Vietnam—such as whether each president understood what he was getting into, whether (as some now charge) the media and public opinion undermined America's ability to win the war, whether official statements were intended to mislead the American people, and, most fundamentally, why America was in Vietnam.

This book explains the history of US/Central American relations, explaining why these countries have remained so overpopulated, illiterate and violent; and why US government notions of economic and military security combine to keep in place a system of Central American dependency. This second edition is updated to include new material covering the Reagan and Bush years, and the Iran/Contra affair.

When Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Tokyo harbor in July 1853, opening Japan to the West, a century and a half of economic, cultural, and occasionally violent clashes between Americans and Japanese began. Walter LaFeber has written the first book to tell the entire story behind the disagreements, tensions, and skirmishes between Japan—a compact, homogenous, closely knit society terrified of disorder—and America—a sprawling, open-ended society that fears economic depression and continually seeks an international marketplace. Using both American and Japanese sources, LaFeber provides the history behind the vicissitudes of rearming Japan, the present-day tensions in U.S.-Japan trade talks, Japan's continuing importance in financing America's huge deficit, and both nations' drive to develop China—a shadow that has darkened American-Japanese relations from the beginning.

With Michael Jordan and the New Global Capitalism, Walter LaFeber has written a biography, a social history, and a far-ranging economic critique. From basketball prodigy to international phenomenon to seductive commercial ideal, Michael Jordan is the supreme example of how American corporations have used technology in a brave, massively wired new world to sell their products in every corner of the globe. LaFeber's examination of Nike and its particular dominion over the global marketplace is often scathing, while his fascinating mini-biography of Michael Jordan and the commercial history of basketball reveal much about American society. For this new paperback edition, LaFeber has added a chapter on globalization in a changed world, after mass protests and since September 11. "Bold, riveting....Brilliantly illuminates how hyper-US capitalism has spread its financial wings around the globe."—Douglas Brinkley "LaFeber brings an impressive intellect to bear on his subject."—Barbara Rudolph, Chicago Tribune

In the Second Edition, LaFeber has revised nearly every chapter in the book. In the early chapters, there is more attention to the origins of foreign policy institutions and practices, including precedents for the executive agreement, and new discussions of U.S. relations with Britain in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The more recent chapters feature fresh insights of Potsdam, the origins of the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis--all based on new evidence drawn from Soviet archives. The new edition amply covers the momentous events that brought the Cold War to an end and thrust the United States into the uncetain position of the world's only superpower.

His narrative account featured several major politics; the impact of American economic development on foreign policy interests; popular culture, particularly film, as a filter for public opinion on American commitments abroad; the roles of public opinion, leadership, and bureaucracy in the formation of policy.In the Second Edition, LaFeber has revised nearly every chapter in the book. In the early chapters, there is more attention to the origins of foreign policy institutions and practices, including precedents for the executive agreement, and new discussions of U.S. relations with Britain in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The more recent chapters feature fresh insights on Potsdam, the origins of the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis—all based on new evidence drawn from Soviet archives.The new edition amply covers the momentous events that brought the Cold War to an end and thrust the United States into the uncertain position of the world's only superpower.

Between the American Civil War and the outbreak of world War I, global history was transformed by two events: the United States's rise to the status of a great world power (indeed, the world's greatest economic power) and the eruption of nineteenth- and twentieth-century revolutions in Mexico, China, Russia, Cuba, the Philippines, Hawaii, Panama, Nicaragua, and elsewhere. The American Search for Opportunity traces the U.S. foreign policy between 1865 and 1913, linking these two historic trends by noting how the United States - usually thought of as antirevolutionary and embarked on a 'search for order' during this era - actually was a determinative force in helping to trigger these revolutions. Walter LaFeber argues that industrialization fuelled centralisation: Post-Civil War America remained a vast, unwieldy country of isolated, parochial communities, but the federal government and a new corporate capitalism now had the power to invade these areas and integrate them into an industrialization, railway-linked nation-state. The furious pace of economic growth in America attracted refugees from all parts of the world. Professor LaFeber describes and influx of immigration so enormous that it led to America's first exclusionary immigration act. In 1882, the United States passed legislation preventing all Chinese immigrant labour, skilled and unskilled, from entering the country for the next 10 years.

Since their first publication, the four volumes of the Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations have served as the definitive source for the topic, from the colonial period to the Cold War. This second volume of the updated edition describes the causes and dynamics of United States foreign policy from 1865 to 1913, the era when the United States became one of the four great world powers and the world's greatest economic power. The dramatic expansion of global power during this period was set in motion by the strike-ridden, bloody, economic depression from 1873 to 1897 when American farms and factories began seeking overseas markets for their surplus goods, as well as by a series of foreign policy triumphs, as America extended its authority to Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Panama Canal Zone, Central America, the Philippines and China. Ironically, as Americans searched for opportunity and stability abroad, they helped create revolutions in Central America, Panama, the Philippines, Mexico, China and Russia.

Lyndon Johnson made a life or death bet during his Presidential term, and lost. Intent upon fighting an extended war against a determined foe, he gambled that American society could also endure a vast array of domestic reforms. The result was the turmoil of the 1968 presidential election—a crisis more severe than any since the Civil War. With thousands killed in Vietnam, hundreds dead in civil rights riots, televised chaos at the Democratic National Convention, and two major assassinations, Americans responded by voting for the law and order message of Richard Nixon.In The Deadly Bet, distinguished historian Walter LaFeber explores the turbulent election of 1968 and its significance in the larger context of American history. Looking through the eyes of the year's most important players—including Robert F. Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, Martin Luther King, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon, George Wallace, Nguyen Van Thieu, and Lyndon Johnson—LaFeber argues that the domestic upheaval had more impact on the election than the war in Vietnam.Clear, concise, and engaging, this work sheds important light on the crucial year of 1968.

Lyndon Johnson made a life or death bet during his Presidential term, and lost. Intent upon fighting an extended war against a determined foe, he gambled that American society could also endure a vast array of domestic reforms. The result was the turmoil of the 1968 presidential election—a crisis more severe than any since the Civil War. With thousands killed in Vietnam, hundreds dead in civil rights riots, televised chaos at the Democratic National Convention, and two major assassinations, Americans responded by voting for the law and order message of Richard Nixon.In The Deadly Bet, distinguished historian Walter LaFeber explores the turbulent election of 1968 and its significance in the larger context of American history. Looking through the eyes of the year's most important players—including Robert F. Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, Martin Luther King, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon, George Wallace, Nguyen Van Thieu, and Lyndon Johnson—LaFeber argues that the domestic upheaval had more impact on the election than the war in Vietnam.Clear, concise, and engaging, this work sheds important light on the crucial year of 1968.

The new edition of this classic text for courses on recent U.S. history covers the story of contemporary America from World War II into the second decade of the twenty-first century with new coverage of the Obama presidency and the 2012 elections. Written by three highly respected scholars, the book seamlessly blends political, social, cultural, intellectual, and economic themes into an authoritative and readable account of our increasingly complex national story. The seventh edition retains its affordability and conciseness while continuing to add the most recent scholarship. Each chapter contains a special feature section devoted to cultural topics including the arts and architecture, sports and recreation, technology and education. Enhancing the students' learning experience is the addition of web links to each of these features to provide complementary visual study tools.An American Century instructor site provides instructors who adopt the book with high interest features--illustrations, photos, maps, quizzes, an elaboration of key themes in the book, PowerPoint presentations, and lecture launchers on topics including the "Military-Industrial Complex" Speech by Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Tet Offensive, and the prospects for a Second American Century. In addition, students have free access to a multimedia primary source archive of materials carefully selected to support the themes of each chapter.

The new edition of this classic text for courses on recent U.S. history covers the story of contemporary America from World War II into the second decade of the twenty-first century with new coverage of the Obama presidency and the 2012 elections. Written by three highly respected scholars, the book seamlessly blends political, social, cultural, intellectual, and economic themes into an authoritative and readable account of our increasingly complex national story. The seventh edition retains its affordability and conciseness while continuing to add the most recent scholarship. Each chapter contains a special feature section devoted to cultural topics including the arts and architecture, sports and recreation, technology and education. Enhancing the students' learning experience is the addition of web links to each of these features to provide complementary visual study tools.An American Century instructor site provides instructors who adopt the book with high interest features--illustrations, photos, maps, quizzes, an elaboration of key themes in the book, PowerPoint presentations, and lecture launchers on topics including the "Military-Industrial Complex" Speech by Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Tet Offensive, and the prospects for a Second American Century. In addition, students have free access to a multimedia primary source archive of materials carefully selected to support the themes of each chapter.

This book focuses on the U.S. foreign and domestic policies, at points noting how the two are necessarily related. It includes brief analyses of developments elsewhere in the world to help students understand the foreign policy.

The new edition of this classic text on modern U.S. history seamlessly blends political, social, cultural, intellectual, and economic themes into an authoritative and readable account of America’s national story since the 1890s.Written by four highly respected scholars, this book has been fully updated with new coverage of the Trump and Biden presidencies, the culture wars, deep political polarization, and the crisis of democracy. The text’s most distinctive quality is its close attention to both history within the United States and the relationships the country has forged with the rest of the world. The eighth edition remains engaging and approachable while continuing to include the most recent scholarship. Each chapter contains a special feature section devoted to cultural topics including the arts and architecture, sports and recreation, technology, and education. Web links to additional online resources accompany each feature, offering complementary learning opportunities to students.While carefully attending to the complexity of history, The American Century traces the long roots of some of the most pressing current issues in the United States and continues to be a compelling resource for students of recent American history.

The new edition of this classic text on modern U.S. history seamlessly blends political, social, cultural, intellectual, and economic themes into an authoritative and readable account of America’s national story since the 1890s.Written by four highly respected scholars, this book has been fully updated with new coverage of the Trump and Biden presidencies, the culture wars, deep political polarization, and the crisis of democracy. The text’s most distinctive quality is its close attention to both history within the United States and the relationships the country has forged with the rest of the world. The eighth edition remains engaging and approachable while continuing to include the most recent scholarship. Each chapter contains a special feature section devoted to cultural topics including the arts and architecture, sports and recreation, technology, and education. Web links to additional online resources accompany each feature, offering complementary learning opportunities to students.While carefully attending to the complexity of history, The American Century traces the long roots of some of the most pressing current issues in the United States and continues to be a compelling resource for students of recent American history.

Since their first publication, the four volumes of the Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations have served as the definitive source for the topic, from the colonial period to the Cold War. This second volume of the updated edition describes the causes and dynamics of United States foreign policy from 1865 to 1913, the era when the United States became one of the four great world powers and the world's greatest economic power. The dramatic expansion of global power during this period was set in motion by the strike-ridden, bloody, economic depression from 1873 to 1897 when American farms and factories began seeking overseas markets for their surplus goods, as well as by a series of foreign policy triumphs, as America extended its authority to Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Panama Canal Zone, Central America, the Philippines and China. Ironically, as Americans searched for opportunity and stability abroad, they helped create revolutions in Central America, Panama, the Philippines, Mexico, China and Russia.