Dean Acheson: A Life in the Cold War

Dean Acheson was one of the most influential Secretaries of State in U.S. history, presiding over American foreign policy during a pivotal era--the decade after World War II when the American Century slipped into high gear. During his vastly influential career, Acheson spearheaded the greatest foreign policy achievements in modern times, ranging from the Marshall Plan to the establishment of NATO. In this acclaimed biography, Robert L. Beisner paints an indelible portrait of one of the key figures of the last half-century. In a book filled with insight based on research in government archives, memoirs, letters, and diaries, Beisner illuminates Acheson's major triumphs, including the highly underrated achievement of converting West Germany and Japan from mortal enemies to prized allies, and does not shy away from examining his missteps. But underlying all his actions, Beisner shows, was a tough-minded determination to outmatch the strength of the Soviet bloc--indeed, to defeat the Soviet Union at every turn. The book also sheds light on Acheson's friendship with Truman--one, a bourbon-drinking mid-Westerner with a homespun disposition, the other, a mustachioed Connecticut dandy who preferred perfect martinis. Over six foot tall, with steel blue, "merry, searching eyes" and a "wolfish" grin, Dean Acheson was an unforgettable character--intellectually brilliant, always debonair, and tough as tempered steel. This lustrous portrait of an immensely accomplished and colorful life is the epitome of the biographer's art.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Acknowledgments Definitions of Acronyms and Abbreviations 1: Introduction: "The Shiniest Fish that Ever Came Out of the Sea" Part I 2: Rare Meat: Adding Reach to Power 3: Patterns of Peril: Joining the Cold Warriors 4: Rome and Carthage: The Truman Doctrine 5: The Marshall Plan and the Return to Private Life Part II 6: The Inner and Outer Acheson 7: Acheson, the President, and the State Department 8: Keeping the Americans In, the Russians Out, and the Germans Down, 1949 9: Strategy in Europe: Backing the West, Probing the East 10: Looking for Chance in China, 1949 11: Neither Wood nor Ivory: Checkmated in China, 1949-1950 12: Other Early Encounters with Asia and the Middle East Part III 13: Weapons: The H-Bomb 14: Words: NSC-68, Public Opinion, and Total Diplomacy 15: Real Diplomacy, in Europe, 1949-1950 16: Plunge into the Unkown: The United States, Indochina, and China on the Eve of the Korean War 17: Friends in Place: Acheson and Alger Hiss 18: Evil Days Part IV 19: Testing Ground-Korea 20: In the Cockpit 21: Prodding Evolution with Action: German Rearmament 22: Acceleration from a Running Start Part V 23: In Thrall: Ironic Failures in Korea 24: Job's Comforter and the Mad Satrap 25: Captives of War 26: At Different Ends of the Triangle: Domestic Debates, European Armies, British Allies Part VI 27: Command in Japan 28: Failure in Indochina and China 29: Razor Edge Sensibilities: ANZUS and India 30: Falling between Two Stools: The Middle East, North Africa, and Africa 31: Picking Up Sticks in Egypt and Iran 32: Jousting with Mosadeq, Waiting for Nasser 33: Latin America: Critical, but not Serious Part VII 34: Lisbon to Letdown: The Fate of the EDC 35: Apples of Discord: Germany and the Soviet Union, 1952 36: Scope for the Exercise of Every Vital Power

About the Author :
Robert L. Beisner is Professor of History Emeritus at American University. A former president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, he lives in Washington, DC.

Review :
"[T]houghtful and well-researched account of Acheson's years as undersecretary and then secretary of state shows him to be a man of sweeping views but pragmatic and definable policies."--New York Times Book Review