From Isolation to War: 1931-1941(American History S.)

This well-written and informative text describes the major events and historiographical controversies in American diplomacy in the years between the two world wars. Covered in detail are such matters as the background of US isolationism, Pacific diplomacy in the 1920s, the Manchurian Crisis, the Ethiopian War, the Spanish Civil War, the neutrality acts, and the debate over intervention in 1939-1941. Topics include the recognition of the Soviet Union, rejection of the World Court, the blocking of Jewish immigration, Munich, the Hitler-Stalin pact, and the polemics of isolationist ideology. There is also an entire chapter that includes a discussion of US-Japanese relations in the 1930s and a close consideration of the economic, political, and historical pressures that forced the island empire's decision to act. The book concludes with a delineation of revisionist arguments, including the 'Devil theory' of FDR's culpability, and provides the insight of modern historians in a consideration of Roosevelt's leadership and the true focus of American diplomacy in the 1930s.

Table of Contents:
Foreword VII Preface XI Acknowledgments, Second Edition XIII Acknowledgments, First Edition XV Chapter One: In Search of Peace 1 Chapter Two: Manchuria 17 Chapter Three: Dictators and Neutrality 47 Chapter Four: Toward War in Europe 82 Chapter Five: Toward War in the Pacific 130 Chapter Six: Day of Infamy 170 Bibliographical Essays 188 Subject Index 215 Author Index 231

About the Author :
Justus D. Donecke is professor of history at New Collegeof Florida, where he has been a member of the history faculty since1969. He received his B.A. from Colgate University in 1960 and hisPh.D. from Princeton University in 1966. His books include Notto the Swift: The Old Isolationists in the Cold War Era (1979);The Presidencies of James A Garfield and Chester A. Arthur(1981); When the Wicked Rise: American Opinion-Makers and theManchurian Crisis of 1931-1933 (1984); Anti-Intervention: ABibliographical Introduction to Isolationism and Pacifism fromWorld War I to the Early Cold War (1987); The Battle againstIntervention, 1939-1941 (1997); and The New Deal (2002). Hisbook In Danger Undaunted: Anti-Interventionist Movement of1940-1941 as Revealed in the papers of the America FirstCommittee (1990) was awarded the Arthur S. Link Prize forDocumentary Editing by the Society for Historians of AmericanForeign Relations. His book Storm on the Horizon: The Challengeto American Intervention, 1939-1941 (2000) received the annualHerbert Hoover Book Award from the Hoover Presidential Library,West Branch, Iowa, as best book on any topic of American historywithin the years 1914-1964. The late John E. Wilz was professor of history at IndianaUniversity, Bloomington, where he has been a member of the historyfaculty from 1958 until his death in 1994. He received his B.A.from the University of Kentucky in 1954 and his Ph.D. from theinstitution in 1959. His books include In Search for Peace: TheSenate Munitions Inquiry, 1934-36 (1963); The Teaching ofAmerican History in High Schools (with Maurice G. Baxter andRobert F. Ferrell, 1964); The Search for Identity: ModernAmerican History (1973); The Search for Memory: Viewpointsin American History (with Richard E. Marshall, 1973); Booksin American History: A Basic List for High Schools and JuniorColleges (2nd ed.; with Nancy C. Cridland, 1981);Democracy Challenged: The United States since World War II(1990); and United States Policy vis-a-vis Korea,1850-1950 (1992). He was a Fulbright-Hays lecturer at theUniversity of West Indies, Jamaica; Hamburg University; and GrazUniversity.

Review :
Praise for the second edition: "Doenecke has updated Wilz's arguments, added much newinformation and breathed life into 20-year-old prose; the result isa satsifying synthesis of recent writing on the period and a goodread. ... From Isolation to War is a balanced andintelligent book well-suited to students and teachers of Americandiplomatic history. All readers will delight in the vividness ofthe authors' writing. ... Those who find most history books dry andlifeless ought to give this one a try." ( The Colgate Scene,November 1991)