Henry Stimson’s life story parallels America’s rise to international power in the 20th century. Godfrey Hodgson shows how this remarkable statesman helped define and carry out his country’s new responsibilities as America became the most powerful nation on earth. After Yale and Harvard Law School in the 1880s, Stimson helped found a law firm that is still a major force on Wall Street. He served as US Attorney for New York, and ran for governor of the state on the Republican ticket. After World War I and renewed legal work, Stimson rejoined public life as special emissary to Nicaragua for Calvin Coolidge, and then as Governor General of the Philippines. He served as William Howard Taft’s Secretary of War, and as Herbert Hoover’s Secretary of State. At age 72, Stimson accepted to become FDR’s Secretary of War, and he organized American victory in World War II and oversaw the birth of American military and political hegemony in the nuclear age. Stimson’s career spanned Teddy Roosevelt’s imperialist expansionism to the world of Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy. He dealt with the role of corporations and how to control them, civil war in Central America (Stimson negotiated the first truce between Somoza and Sandino in Nicaragua in 1927), the US position in the Philippines, the rise of Japan (which he dealt with before World War I), America’s commitment to helping Europe achieve stability, the terrors of the nuclear age (Stimson chaired the meetings that decided to drop the bomb on Hiroshima, and shortly before his death, wrote the earliest and most profound reassessment and repudiation of nuclear weaponry). In his many positions, Stimson mentored some of the best and brightest in American public service — Acheson, Lovett, Harriman, Bundy, and Marshall. “Henry L. Stimson was Secretary of War under Taft, Governor-General of the Philippines under Coolidge, Secretary of State under Hoover, and Secretary of War under FDR. The atom bombs were built and dropped under Stimson’s supervision and authority... The public figure as well as the private man are richly delineated in this elegant, learned biography, which offers deep insight into the process by which the U.S. emerged from the periphery of world events to the center of global power.” — Publishers Weekly “After Dean Acheson, in many ways [Stimson’s] spiritual heir, Stimson was the most impressive statesman in the American century. To understand [him] is to understand how the United States was able to establish a Pax Americana over much of the globe. This lucid and penetrating biography of ‘Colonel Stimson’... is written with deft clarity... Hodgson... has shown himself to be one of the keenest observers of American politics.” — James Chace, The New York Times “Hodgson raises troubling questions about Stimson’s understanding of what we now call the third world, discusses Stimson’s racial and ethnic prejudices... and pays particular attention to [his] central role in the decision to use atomic weapons against Japan. What most clearly distinguishes this book... is Hodgson’s continuing interest in the idea of the American establishment and his effort to define its values.” — Alan Brinkley, The New York Review of Books “Hodgson’s first-rate biography of the old statesman and warrior, who died 40 years ago, has a particular relevance to the events gripping the world today. It is as good a guide as any to understanding what George Bush is up to in the Middle East... [Hodgson’s] concluding chapter... is the best essay I have ever read in a genre that could be loosely termed ‘establishment studies.’ [He] writes with a sure hand and lively touch about the private man as well as the public one.” — Evan Thomas, Washington Post “Meticulously researched and masterfully written, Godfrey Hodgson’s biography of Henry L. Stimson breathes life into one of America’s most formidable public figures. In the process, Hodgson provides fresh information and insights into the management of the United States during the first half of the twentieth century.” — Stanley Karnow “A lucid and meticulous account that measures up to its monumental subject and will hasten Henry Stimson’s passage into legend.” — John Newhouse

An authoritative biography; shows how this remarkable statesman helped to define and carry out his country's new responsibilities in the decades when America was transformed from an isolated republic into the nost powerful nation on earth.

Autographed photograph America Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 - October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican Party politician and spokesman on foreign policy. He twice served as Secretary of War 1911-1913 under Republican William Howard Taft and 1940-1945, under Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the latter role he was a leading hawk calling for war against Germany. During World War II he took charge of raising and training 13 million soldiers and airmen, supervised the spending of a third of the nation's GDP on the Army and the Air Forces, helped formulate military strategy, and took personal control of building and using the atomic bomb. He served as Governor-General of the Philippines. As Secretary of State (1929-1933) under Republican President Herbert Hoover he articulated the Stimson Doctrine which announced American opposition to Japanese expansion in Asia.

This revised edition of Seeking Security in an Insecure World provides a thorough, accessible introduction to contemporary security studies. All chapters are updated and a wide range of new topics are discussed, including the Syrian civil war, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its intervention in East Ukraine, the global refugee crisis, China’s military buildup, the impact of fracking on oil and gas markets, and rapidly evolving cyberwar capabilities. Each chapter also addresses what has been and can be done to enhance security. Overall, Seeking Security in an Insecure World offers a clear and compelling framework for understanding what security means today and how it can best be achieved.

This comprehensive guide provides an in-depth, chronological overview of issues and policy processes related to U.S. foreign, military, and national security policy during the 20th century. U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security: Chronology and Index for the 20th Century provides a unique compilation of data never before combined in a single volume. Key events and policy meetings are arranged in order by presidential administration, from the McKinley administration to that of President Obama. Each section begins with a concise list of policymakers, including Cabinet-level officials, members of the National Security Council, and senior ranks of the Department of State and Department of Defense, supplemented with bibliographic data. The bulk of each chapter is comprised of detailed lists of meetings of the president of the United States with key advisors and foreign dignitaries. These meetings include international conferences, meetings between the president and foreign leaders, meetings of the joint chiefs of staff in World War II, and meetings of the National Security Council since its creation in 1947. This unprecedented guide will be invaluable to researchers and, indeed, to anyone interested in the decisions that determined the course of U.S. history.

Surveys the bureaucratic mistakes--including poor weapons and strategic blunders--that marked America's entry into World War II, showing how these errors were overcome by the citizens waging the war.

The period from the outset of World War I to the end of World War II was among the most significant in the history of the United States. Twice it was drawn into "foreign entanglements"-- wars it initially thought were no concern of its own and of which it tried to steer clear--only to realize that it could not stand aside. With each one, it geared up in record time, entered the fray massively, and was crucial to the outcome. Each war tested the American people and their leaders, and in each case the country came out of the conflagration stronger than before-and even more important-yet stronger relative to other countries than it had ever been. This was the period when the United States became a world leader. The A to Z of U.S. Diplomacy from World War I through World War II relates the events of this crucial period in U.S. history through a chronology, an introductory essay, and over 600 cross-referenced dictionary entries on key persons, places, events, institutions, and organizations.