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Overview
Dean Acheson was one of the most influential Secretaries of State in U.S. history, presiding over American foreign policy during a pivotal era—the decade after World War II when the American Century slipped into high gear. During his vastly influential career, Acheson spearheaded the greatest foreign policy achievements in modern times, ranging from the Marshall Plan to the establishment of NATO.
In this acclaimed biography, Robert L. Beisner paints an indelible portrait of one of the key figures of the last half-century. In a book filled with insight based on research in government archives, memoirs, letters, and diaries, Beisner illuminates Acheson's major triumphs, including the highly underrated achievement of converting West Germany and Japan from mortal enemies to prized allies, and does not shy away from examining his missteps. But underlying all his actions, Beisner shows, was a tough-minded determination to outmatch the strength of the Soviet bloc—indeed, to defeat the Soviet Union at every turn. The book also sheds light on Acheson's friendship with Truman—one, a bourbon-drinking mid-Westerner with a homespun disposition, the other, a mustachioed Connecticut dandy who preferred perfect martinis.
Over six foot tall, with steel blue, "merry, searching eyes" and a "wolfish" grin, Dean Acheson was an unforgettable character—intellectually brilliant, always debonair, and tough as tempered steel. This lustrous portrait of an immensely accomplished and colorful life is the epitome of the biographer's art.
Synopsis
Dean Acheson was one of the most influential Secretaries of State in U.S. history, presiding over American foreign policy during a pivotal era—the decade after World War II when the American Century slipped into high gear. During his vastly influential career, Acheson spearheaded the greatest foreign policy achievements in modern times, ranging from the Marshall Plan to the establishment of NATO.
In this acclaimed biography, Robert L. Beisner paints an indelible portrait of one of the key figures of the last half-century. In a book filled with insight based on research in government archives, memoirs, letters, and diaries, Beisner illuminates Acheson's major triumphs, including the highly underrated achievement of converting West Germany and Japan from mortal enemies to prized allies, and does not shy away from examining his missteps. But underlying all his actions, Beisner shows, was a tough-minded determination to outmatch the strength of the Soviet bloc—indeed, to defeat the Soviet Union at every turn. The book also sheds light on Acheson's friendship with Truman—one, a bourbon-drinking mid-Westerner with a homespun disposition, the other, a mustachioed Connecticut dandy who preferred perfect martinis.
Over six foot tall, with steel blue, "merry, searching eyes" and a "wolfish" grin, Dean Acheson was an unforgettable character—intellectually brilliant, always debonair, and tough as tempered steel. This lustrous portrait of an immensely accomplished and colorful life is the epitome of the biographer's art.
The New York Times - Walter Isaacson
Acheson has been blessed with good and generally sympathetic biographers: Gaddis Smith, David McLellan, James Chace and, for his later years, Douglas Brinkley. The man himself conveyed his own flair in what may be the most luminous memoir by any American statesman, Present at the Creation, published in 1969…Robert L. Beisner, a diplomatic historian whose previous works have focused on the 19th century, has now produced a welcome addition to this shelf, a solidly researched and balanced tome that focuses mainly on Acheson's years as the undersecretary and then secretary of state. It serves as the perfect companion to Present at the Creation. It is not as rollicking and witty, but Mr. Beisner's prodigious mining of archives and oral histories makes it actually far more reliable and accurate than Acheson's martini-lubricated memories.
Editorials
Henry Kissinger
…sweeping and thoughtful account of Acheson's tenure…Acheson emerges from the Beisner book as the greatest secretary of state of the postwar period in the sweep of his design, his ability to implement it, the extraordinary associates with whom he surrounded himself and the nobility of his personal conduct.—The New York Times Book Review
Walter Isaacson
Acheson has been blessed with good and generally sympathetic biographers: Gaddis Smith, David McLellan, James Chace and, for his later years, Douglas Brinkley. The man himself conveyed his own flair in what may be the most luminous memoir by any American statesman, Present at the Creation, published in 1969…Robert L. Beisner, a diplomatic historian whose previous works have focused on the 19th century, has now produced a welcome addition to this shelf, a solidly researched and balanced tome that focuses mainly on Acheson's years as the undersecretary and then secretary of state. It serves as the perfect companion to Present at the Creation. It is not as rollicking and witty, but Mr. Beisner's prodigious mining of archives and oral histories makes it actually far more reliable and accurate than Acheson's martini-lubricated memories.—The New York Times