Melvyn P. Leffler's Books

For the Soul of Mankind

The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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For the Soul of Mankind

The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

“A masterful account of the Cold War by a distinguished historian in full stride.” —G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs To the amazement of the public, pundits, and even the policymakers themselves, the ideological and political battles that endangered the world for half a century came to an end in 1990. How did that happen? What caused the cold war in the first place, and why did it last as long as it did? To answer these questions, Melvyn P. Leffler homes in on four crucial episodes when American and Soviet leaders considered modulating, avoiding, or ending their global struggle “for the soul of mankind,” and asks why they failed: Stalin and Truman devising new policies after 1945; Malenkov and Eisenhower exploring the chance for peace after Stalin’s death in 1953; Kennedy, Khrushchev, and LBJ trying to reduce tensions after the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962; and Brezhnev and Carter aiming to sustain détente after the Helsinki Conference of 1975. Leffler then illuminates how Reagan, Bush, and, above all, Gorbachev managed to extricate themselves form the policies and mind-sets that had imprisoned their predecessors, making it possible to reconfigure Soviet-American relations after decades of confrontation. Praise for For the Soul of Mankind “[A] sweeping work . . . Leffler is one of America’s most distinguished cold war historians, and this enlightening, readable study is the product of years of research and reflection.” —Jonathan Rosenberg, The Christian Science Monitor “Leffler has produced possibly the most readable and insightful study of the Cold War yet.” —Publishers Weekly, (starred review) “Professor Leffler has the benefit of almost two decades of hindsight as well as access to recently declassified American and Soviet documents. The result is a series of fresh and often provocative perspectives on the struggle.” —Booklist

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1032

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Macmillan + ORM

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ISBN 10

142996409X

ISBN 13

9781429964098

Origins of the Cold War

An International History

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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Origins of the Cold War

An International History

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

This second edition brings the collection up to date, including the newest research from the Communist side of the Cold War and the most recent debates on culture, race and intelligence.

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376

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Psychology Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0415341094

ISBN 13

9780415341097

Safeguarding Democratic Capitalism

U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security, 1920-2015

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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Safeguarding Democratic Capitalism

U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security, 1920-2015

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

Safeguarding Democratic Capitalism gathers together decades of writing by Melvyn Leffler, one of the most respected historians of American foreign policy, to address important questions about U.S. national security policy from the end of World War I to the global war on terror. Why did the United States withdraw strategically from Europe after World War I and not after World War II? How did World War II reshape Americans’ understanding of their vital interests? What caused the United States to achieve victory in the long Cold War? To what extent did 9/11 transform U.S. national security policy? Is budgetary austerity a fundamental threat to U.S. national interests? Leffler’s wide-ranging essays explain how foreign policy evolved into national security policy. He stresses the competing priorities that forced policymakers to make agonizing trade-offs and illuminates the travails of the policymaking process itself. While assessing the course of U.S. national security policy, he also interrogates the evolution of his own scholarship. Over time, slowly and almost unconsciously, Leffler’s work has married elements of revisionism with realism to form a unique synthesis that uses threat perception as a lens to understand how and why policymakers reconcile the pressures emanating from external dangers and internal priorities. An account of the development of U.S. national security policy by one of its most influential thinkers, Safeguarding Democratic Capitalism includes a substantial new introduction from the author.

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360

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0691196516

ISBN 13

9780691196510

For the Soul of Mankind

The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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For the Soul of Mankind

The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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1032

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Macmillan + ORM

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ISBN 10

142996409X

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9781429964098

The Specter of Communism

The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1917-1953

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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The Specter of Communism

The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1917-1953

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

The Hill and Wang Critical Issues Series: concise, affordable works on pivotal topics in American history, society, and politics. The Specter of Communism is a concise history of the origins of the Cold War and the evolution of U.S.-Soviet relations, from the Bolshevik revolution to the death of Stalin. Using not only American documents but also those from newly opened archives in Russia, China, and Eastern Europe, Leffler shows how the ideological animosity that existed from Lenin's seizure of power onward turned into dangerous confrontation. By focusing on American political culture and American anxieties about the Soviet political and economic threat, Leffler suggests new ways of understanding the global struggle staged by the two great powers of the postwar era.

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Page Count

190

Publisher

Hill and Wang

Published Date

ISBN 10

1429952350

ISBN 13

9781429952354

Confronting Saddam Hussein

George W. Bush and the Invasion of Iraq

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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Confronting Saddam Hussein

George W. Bush and the Invasion of Iraq

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

A vivid portrayal of what drove George W. Bush to invade Iraq in 2003--an outcome that was in no way predetermined. America's decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003 is arguably the most important foreign policy choice of the entire post-Cold War era. Nearly two decades after the event, it remains central to understanding current international politics and US foreign relations. In Confronting Saddam Hussein, the eminent historian of US foreign policy Melvyn P. Leffler analyzes why the US chose war and who was most responsible for the decision. Employing a unique set of personal interviews with dozens of top officials and declassified American and British documents, Leffler vividly portrays the emotions and anxieties that shaped the thinking of the president after the shocking events of 9/11. He shows how fear, hubris, and power influenced Bush's approach to Saddam Hussein's Iraq. At the core of Leffler's account is his compelling portrait of Saddam Hussein. Rather than stressing Bush's preoccupation with promoting freedom or democracy, Leffler emphasizes Hussein's brutality, opportunism, and unpredictability and illuminates how the Iraqi dictator's record of aggression and intransigence haunted the president and influenced his calculations. Bush was not eager for war, and the decision to invade Iraq was not a fait accompli. Yet the president was convinced that only by practicing coercive diplomacy and threatening force could he alter Hussein's defiance, a view shared by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other leaders around the world, including Hans Blix, the chief UN inspector. Throughout, Leffler highlights the harrowing anxieties surrounding the decision-making process after the devastating attack on 9/11 and explains the roles of contingency, agency, rationality, and emotion. As the book unfolds, Bush's centrality becomes more and more evident, as does the bureaucratic dysfunctionality that contributed to the disastrous occupation of Iraq. A compelling reassessment of George W. Bush's intervention in Iraq, Confronting Saddam Hussein provides a provocative reinterpretation of the most important international event of the 21st century.

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369

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

019761079X

ISBN 13

9780197610794

The Elusive Quest

America's Pursuit of European Stability and French Security, 1919-1933

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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The Elusive Quest

America's Pursuit of European Stability and French Security, 1919-1933

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

Leffler argues that American officials did not disregard European developments after World War I but, rather, they sought to settle the war debt and reparations controversies, to stabilize European currencies, and to revive European markets. Leffler bridges the gap between revisionist and traditionalist studies by integrating the diverse aspects of foreign policy and elucidates many new aspects of the foreign policymaking process in the postwar period. Originally published in 1979. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

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Page Count

426

Publisher

UNC Press Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1469610159

ISBN 13

9781469610153

Origins of the Cold War

An International History

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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Origins of the Cold War

An International History

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

This second edition brings the collection up to date, including the newest research from the Communist side of the Cold War and the most recent debates on culture, race and intelligence.

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Page Count

376

Publisher

Psychology Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0415341094

ISBN 13

9780415341097

Safeguarding Democratic Capitalism

U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security, 1920-2015

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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Safeguarding Democratic Capitalism

U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security, 1920-2015

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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Page Count

360

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0691196516

ISBN 13

9780691196510

Confronting Saddam Hussein

George W. Bush and the Invasion of Iraq

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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Confronting Saddam Hussein

George W. Bush and the Invasion of Iraq

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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369

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

019761079X

ISBN 13

9780197610794

The Specter of Communism

The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1917-1953

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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The Specter of Communism

The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1917-1953

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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Page Count

160

Publisher

Hill and Wang

Published Date

ISBN 10

0809015749

ISBN 13

9780809015740

The Specter of Communism

The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1917-1953

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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The Specter of Communism

The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1917-1953

By: Melvyn P. Leffler

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Page Count

190

Publisher

Hill and Wang

Published Date

ISBN 10

1429952350

ISBN 13

9781429952354

Book's by Melvyn P. Leffler

For the Soul of Mankind

For the Soul of Mankind

Origins of the Cold War

Origins of the Cold War

Safeguarding Democratic Capitalism

Safeguarding Democratic Capitalism

For the Soul of Mankind

For the Soul of Mankind

The Specter of Communism

The Specter of Communism

Confronting Saddam Hussein

Confronting Saddam Hussein

The Elusive Quest

The Elusive Quest

Origins of the Cold War

Origins of the Cold War

Safeguarding Democratic Capitalism

Safeguarding Democratic Capitalism

Confronting Saddam Hussein

Confronting Saddam Hussein

The Specter of Communism

The Specter of Communism

The Specter of Communism

The Specter of Communism

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