George Kennan and the Dilemmas of U.S. Foreign Policy

One of a select group of American foreign service officers to receive specialized training on the Soviet Union in the late 1920s and early 1930s, George Frost Kennan eventually became the American government's chief expert on Soviet affairs during the height of the Cold War. Drawing upon a wealth of original research, David Mayers' fascinating life of George Kennan examines his high-level participation in foreign policy-making and interprets his political and philosophical development within a historical framework. Mayers presents an engaging and lucid account of Kennan's training; his rise to prominence during the late 1940s and his policy failures; and his later roles as critic of America's external policy, advocate of détente with the Soviet Union, and proponent of nuclear arms limitation. Mayers also explores Kennan's complicated relationships with such important political figures and analysts as Dean Acheson, John Foster Dulles, and Walter Lippmann. Contents......Page 12 Chronology......Page 14 Introduction......Page 18 I: EARLY CAREER......Page 28 1. Early Influences and Development......Page 30 2. First Tour in the Soviet Union......Page 44 3. Criticisms and Recommendations......Page 63 4. Nazi Germany and the Future of Europe......Page 79 5. Soviet War Aims and the Grand Alliance......Page 101 II: MAKING FOREIGN POLICY......Page 118 6. Containment and the Primacy of Diplomacy......Page 120 7. Cold War in Europe......Page 147 8. Far Eastern Dilemmas......Page 176 9. Two Ambassadorships......Page 204 III: ON THE SIDELINES......Page 232 10. Cold War Critic......Page 234 11. America and the Third World......Page 260 12. War and Protest......Page 290 13. Detente and the Nuclear Arms Race......Page 308 14. Diplomacy and the Politics of Amelioration......Page 332 Notes......Page 348 Bibliography......Page 390 C......Page 410 E......Page 411 H......Page 412 M......Page 413 P......Page 414 S......Page 415 U......Page 416 Z......Page 417

One of a select group of American foreign service officers to receive specialized training on the Soviet Union in the late 1920s and early 1930s, George Frost Kennan eventually became the American government's chief expert on Soviet affairs during the height of the Cold War.
Drawing upon a wealth of original research, David Mayers' fascinating life of George Kennan examines his high-level participation in foreign policy-making and interprets his political and philosophical development within a historical framework. Mayers presents an engaging and lucid account of Kennan's training; his rise to prominence during the late 1940s and his policy failures; and his later roles as critic of America's external policy, advocate of détente with the Soviet Union, and proponent of nuclear arms limitation. Mayers also explores Kennan's complicated relationships with such important political figures and analysts as Dean Acheson, John Foster Dulles, and Walter Lippmann.

Annotation. One of a select group of American foreign service officers to receive specialized training on the Soviet Union in the late 1920s and early 1930s, George Frost Kennan eventually became the American government's chief expert on Soviet affairs during the height of the Cold War. Drawing upon a wealth of original research, David Mayers' fascinating life of George Kennan examines his high-level participation in foreign policy-making and interprets his political and philosophical development within a historical framework. Mayers presents an engaging and lucid accountof Kennan's training; his rise to prominence during the late 1940s and his policy failures; and his later roles as critic of America's external policy, advocate of detente with the Soviet Union, and proponent of nuclear arms limitation. Mayers also explores Kennan's complicated relationships withsuch important political figures and analysts as Dean Acheson, John Foster Dulles, and Walter Lippmann This political biography examines Kennan's thoughts in the context of his many years of government service and his political counsel in the field of foreign policy