The Embassy in Grosvenor Square: American Ambassadors to the United Kingdom, 1938-2008

Leading scholars explore the role played by the American Embassy in London and the US Ambassador to the Court of St James's, not only in bilateral UK-US relations, but also in wider international issues over the years the Embassy has been in Grosvenor Square. This volume covers the period from 1938 to 2008, effectively the lifespan of what has often been termed 'the special relationship', from its birth in the Second World War, through the challenges of the Cold War to the present day. Debates about the 'specialness' of the relationship in the post-war context are key, as are discussions about the impact of the development and demise of the 'Cold War', the ongoing impact of European integration, the influence of nuclear weapons and NATO, and wider economic, cultural, demographic and environmental forces that have shaped the transatlantic relationship to arguably form the basis of a new model of 'transatlantic diplomacy'.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgements Author Biographies Introduction; A.R.Holmes & J.S.Rofe PART I: THE WAR TIME AMBASSADORS 1938-1946; J.S.Rofe Joseph P Kennedy 1938-40; J.S.Rofe John Gilbert Winant, 1941-45; D.Mayers W Averell Harriman 1946; M.H.Folly PART II: THE COLD WAR AMBASSADORS PART I 1946-1961; J.S.Rofe Lewis Williams Douglas, 1947-50; J.Colman Walter Sherman Gifford, 1950-53; J.Colman Winthrop Aldrich 1953-57; A.Boxer John Hay Whitney, 1957-61; T.C.Mills PART III: THE COLD WAR AMBASSADORS PART II 1961-1981; A.R.Holmes David KE Bruce, 1961-69; J.W.Young Walter H Annenberg, 1969-74; J.Cameron Elliot Richardson, 1975-76; A.Spelling Anne Armstrong, 1976-77; A.Spelling Kingman Brewster 1977-81; A.Spelling PART IV: THE COLD WAR CLOSERS 1981-1991; A.R.Holmes John J. Louis, Jr., 1981-83; P.Trickett Charles Price 1983-89; P.Trickett Henry E Catto Jr., 1989-91; N.J.Cull PART V: THE POST-COLD WAR AMBASSADORS 1991-2001; A.R.Holmes Raymond George Hardenbergh Seitz, 1991-94; A.R.Holmes William J Crowe 1994-97; A.R.Holmes Philip Lader 1997-2001; J.Dumbrell PART VI: POST 9/11 AMBASSADORS 2001-2008; A.R.Holmes William Stamps Farish III 2001-04; A.R.Holmes Robert Holmes Tuttle 2005-08; A.R.Holmes Appendices Table of Ambassadors, Presidents and Prime Ministers Index

About the Author :
J SIMON ROFE is Senior Lecturer in Diplomatic and International Studies in the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS, University of London, UK. His research interests lie in the field of US Diplomacy and Foreign Relations in the twentieth century with a specific focus on the era of Franklin Roosevelt, and Presidential peacemaking and post-war planning. ALISON R. HOLMES is Program Leader of the International Studies Program at Humboldt State University in northern California, USA. She spent 20 years in the UK, including running two general election campaigns for the Liberal Democrats, devising communications strategy at the BBC, managing the largest British-American business organisation and as speechwriter to the US Ambassador. She was awarded her PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics in 2005 and returned to the US in 2008 as the Pierre Keller Fellow of Transatlantic Studies at Yale University.

Review :
'Despite the long-running debate over the nature and significance of the Anglo-American 'special relationship,' historians have not until now had a comprehensive view of Washington's ambassadors in London. The sixteen well-written and impressively researched essays in this volume offer a fascinating perspective on diplomacy as practiced by governments that have remained close despite their many spats. This is a book that should appeal to general readers as well as to scholars and students.' - Frank Costigliola, University of Connecticut '...this is an excellent book, which will be very useful not just for the [...] group of people interested in the Embassy but also anyone interested in Anglo - American relations since 1938 and US foreign policy in general.' - Andrew Williams, University of St Andrews 'Never before has a collection been compiled that has such range and detail on the work of US ambassadors in London as this. The two editors have done an immensely valuable job in assembling a group of well-known scholars who help to fill an important gap in our understanding of Anglo-American relations.' - Alan Dobson, University of Dundee