America's Half-Century: United States Foreign Policy in the Cold War and After (The American Moment)

This is a well-research, well-argued and still-relevant book. As other reviewers have noted, the author adopts an explicit neo-Marxist (or World-systems) perspective. Based on this, two reviewers have summarily dismissed the author's argument as "clap trap" or "mumbo-jumbo." Yet, not surprisingly, they offer nothing of substance to support their views. They do not show exactly how and why the author's position is wrong. It's... Read Full Review

As noted by other reviewers, this book is framed around a Wallersteinian model of core and periphery. However, that is no reason to deride its excellent content. I have read numereous other great volumes on American Foreign Policy (it was my undergraduate specialization); however, this book does a nice job of putting together the intricacies of America's forey into a bigger world. The only criticsm I can offer is that it... Read Full Review

Readers not fully abreast of contemporary debates in the study of U.S. history may be somewhat shocked by the central theme of Thomas J. McCormick's America's Half-Century. According to McCormick the Cold War was not something foisted on a reluctant American leadership by Soviet belligerence and intransigence. Rather, the Cold War was itself part of a larger "hegemonic project" -- a projection of U.S. power whose goals were... Read Full Review

This is one of the best books available tracing the political and economic history of U.S. foreign policy since the end of World War II. I use it on a regular basis in my American Foreign Policy course and students enjoy McCormick's clarity and provocative insights,as he does a masterful job in linking economic and political power in the shaping of U.S. foreign policy.