Blind Oracles: Intellectuals and War from Kennan to Kissinger Contributor(s): Kuklick, Bruce (Author) |
|
ISBN: 0691133875 ISBN-13: 9780691133874 Publisher: Princeton University Press OUR PRICE: $32.30 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: August 2007 Annotation: "Fabulous material. The book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the era."--Lisa Anderson, Columbia University |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - History | United States - 20th Century - Political Science | International Relations - General |
Dewey: 327.73 |
Physical Information: 0.62" H x 6.62" W x 9.14" (0.84 lbs) 264 pages |
Themes: - Chronological Period - 20th Century |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: In this trenchant analysis, historian Bruce Kuklick examines the role of intellectuals in foreign policymaking. He recounts the history of the development of ideas about strategy and foreign policy during a critical period in American history: the era of the nuclear standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union. The book looks at how the country's foremost thinkers advanced their ideas during this time of United States expansionism, a period that culminated in the Vietnam War and d tente with the Soviets. Beginning with George Kennan after World War II, and concluding with Henry Kissinger and the Vietnam War, Kuklick examines the role of both institutional policymakers such as those at The Rand Corporation and Harvard's Kennedy School, and individual thinkers including Paul Nitze, McGeorge Bundy, and Walt Rostow. Kuklick contends that the figures having the most influence on American strategy--Kissinger, for example--clearly understood the way politics and the exercise of power affects policymaking. Other brilliant thinkers, on the other hand, often played a minor role, providing, at best, a rationale for policies adopted for political reasons. At a time when the role of the neoconservatives' influence over American foreign policy is a subject of intense debate, this book offers important insight into the function of intellectuals in foreign policymaking. |