Suchergebnisse

THIS ARTICLE IS A FEATURE REVIEW OF A BOOK WRITTEN BY MELVYN LEFFLER. IN HIS MASSIVE STUDY OF THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE TRUMAN ADMINISTRATION, LEFFLER HAS SOUGHT TO DO TWO THINGS. THE FIRST IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE RANGE AND COHESIVENESS OF THAT POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TIME. HE ACCOMPLISHES THIS GOAL BRILLIANTLY. THE SECOND IS TO EVALUATE THE MERITS OF THAT POLICY, AND HERE HIS RESULTS ARE FAR MORE MIXED. LEFFLER CARRIES US WELL BEYOND A PREOCCUPATION WITH MILITARY ALIGNMENTS, HOWEVER, IN HIS EMPHASIS ON THE ECONOMIC BASES OF TRUMAN'S SECURITY STRATEGY. ALONG WITH HIS ASSIDUOUS PRESENTATION OF THE COURSE OF TRUMAN'S FOREIGN POLICY, LEFFLER GIVES US A RATHER AMBIGUOUS EVALUATION OF IT. THE MAIN WEAKNESSES OF LEFFLER'S BOOK LIE IN HIS ASSESSMENT OF THE SOVIET SIDE OF THIS RELATIONSHIP. ALTHOUGH HE CONTENDS THAT HIS ANALYSIS IS IN ACCORD WITH THAT OF WILLIAM TAUBMAN, IT ACTUALLY DIVERGES SIGNIFICANTLY FROM IT--AND NOT TO THE ADVANTAGE OF LEFFLER. WERE LEFFLER TO BRING TO HIS ASSESSMENT OF SOVIET POLICY THE SAME RIGOR AND INSIGHT THAT HE HAS BROUGHT TO HIS ASSESSMENT OF AMERICAN, HE COULD WRITE THE DEFINITIVE WORK IN THE FIELD.