The tragedy of American diplomacy

William Appleman Williams

In his daring -- and prophetic -- book, Williams traces the history of the United States foreign policy since the Open Door Notes of 1898. This policy, designed to assure continued expansion of the domestic economy by securing foreign markets, inevitably led American policy-makers to find the causes of their failure in external events. Our disasters at the Bay of Pigs and in Vietnam are the tragic consequences of a point of view which has animated our foreign policy from the beginning.--Back cover.