Since 1945: Politics and Diplomacy in Recent American History

Divine does an excellent job of presenting readers with a comprehensive yet flowing account of the events between 1945 and its last publication in 1984. He weaves together seamlessly foreign and domestic affairs while maintaining a narrative focusing on the various presidents since 1945. Much like Thomas Bailey, Divine approaches his work cognizant of his audience, presumably an introductory college crowd, and keeps his text simple enough to make it readable yet complex and intelligent enough to make it appropriate for a college history classroom. This work also has potential on the graduate scene as well. Divine's lack of visual aids and distractions make this an ideal candidate for 20th century American history seminars. The bulk of texts chosen for American history seminars tend to be less flashy than introductory college texts. Divine mixes foreign and domestic policy and events flawlessly, moving from Truman to Eisenhower to Kennedy without losing sight that the events that either sink or lift an administration do not pause to consider a newly elected leader. Divine also mixes in anecdotal and lesser known details about presidents and presidential candidates. Divine also puts forth the political acumen of Dwight Eisenhower, showing that Ike merely played a coy, grandfatherly type on television but was a different man indeed in the Oval Office. All in all, this work is a good addition to a collection of survey-type texts.