Robert L. Messer's Books

The End of an Alliance

James F. Byrnes, Roosevelt, Truman, and the Origins of the Cold War

By: Robert L. Messer

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The End of an Alliance

James F. Byrnes, Roosevelt, Truman, and the Origins of the Cold War

By: Robert L. Messer

Using recently declassified documents, Messer traces Byrnes's performance from the Yalta Conference through the postwar dealings with the Soviet Union. He sees the failure of the Soviet-American collaboration to continue into the postwar years as the result of several unrelated events--the struggle between Byrnes and Truman to become Roosevelt's successor in 1944, Roosevelt's use of Byrnes as his Yalta salesman," and Byrnes's distorted view of the Yalta Conference." Originally published in 1982. 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

411

Publisher

UNC Press Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1469640252

ISBN 13

9781469640259

Nuclear Fallacies

How We Have Been Misguided Since Hiroshima

By: Robert W. Malcolmson

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Nuclear Fallacies

How We Have Been Misguided Since Hiroshima

By: Robert W. Malcolmson

The world changed irrevocably after Hiroshima, in ways we are only now beginning to understand. Our perceptions of life have been dramatically altered. The polemics of various factions around the nuclear issue often serve only to obscure further the realities of life in the nuclear age.

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Page Count

166

Publisher

McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published Date

ISBN 10

0773505857

ISBN 13

9780773505858

The Transformation of South Korea

Reform and Reconstitution in the Sixth Republic Under Roh Tae Woo, 1987-1992

By: Robert Bedeski

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The Transformation of South Korea

Reform and Reconstitution in the Sixth Republic Under Roh Tae Woo, 1987-1992

By: Robert Bedeski

South Korea underwent rapid economic development under a semi-military, virulently anti-communist government which banned trade unions and kept close checks on the economy. President Roe Tae Woo has, however, since 1987, introduced electoral and social reforms. Strikes and wage rises have followed, leading to a loss of competitive edge, and the growth of opposition parties has resulted in political stalemate. Robert E. Bedeski provides a thorough analysis of the institutions of government in South Korea and how they have been transformed by the introduction of political pluralism, and of the attempt to liberalize without undermining economic success. He also examines the new political parties and their role within the framework of the South Korean political system, as well as their social context. State reforms are compared with developments in Taiwan, the Phillipines, North Korea, China and the former Soviet Union. The major themes of state-building an deconomic development are thoroughly explored. The author also deals with South Korea's international environment and changing foreign policy.

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Page Count

203

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1134845146

ISBN 13

9781134845149

From War To Cold War

The Education Of Harry S. Truman

By: Robert James Maddox

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From War To Cold War

The Education Of Harry S. Truman

By: Robert James Maddox

This book reviews the strains between the United States and Great Britain that led to the Cold War as the result of personal characteristics of the leaders of the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain as well as of historical and ideological forces.

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257

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

0429718217

ISBN 13

9780429718212

FDR's Funeral Train

A Betrayed Widow, a Soviet Spy, and a Presidency in the Balance

By: Robert Klara

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FDR's Funeral Train

A Betrayed Widow, a Soviet Spy, and a Presidency in the Balance

By: Robert Klara

The April 1945 journey of FDR's funeral train became a thousand-mile odyssey, fraught with heartbreak and scandal. As it passed through the night, few of the grieving onlookers gave thought to what might be happening behind the Pullman shades, where women whispered and men tossed back highballs. Inside was a Soviet spy, a newly widowed Eleanor Roosevelt, who had just discovered that her husband's mistress was in the room with him when he died, all the Supreme Court justices, and incoming president Harry S. Truman who was scrambling to learn secrets FDR had never shared with him. Weaving together information from long-forgotten diaries and declassified Secret Service documents, journalist and historian Robert Klara enters the private world on board that famous train. He chronicles the three days during which the country grieved and despaired as never before, and a new president hammered out the policies that would galvanize a country in mourning and win the Second World War.

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Page Count

273

Publisher

St. Martin's Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0230105939

ISBN 13

9780230105935

Choosing Truman

The Democratic Convention of 1944

By: Robert H. Ferrell

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Choosing Truman

The Democratic Convention of 1944

By: Robert H. Ferrell

As Franklin D. Roosevelt's health deteriorated in the months leading up to the Democratic National Convention of 1944, Democratic leaders confronted a dire situation. Given the inevitability of the president's death during a fourth term, the choice of a running mate for FDR was of profound importance. The Democrats needed a man they could trust. They needed Harry S. Truman. Robert Ferrell tells an engrossing tale of ruthless ambition, secret meetings, and party politics. Roosevelt emerges as a manipulative leader whose desire to retain power led to a blatant disregard for the loyalty of his subordinates and the aspirations of his vice presidential hopefuls. Startling in its conclusions, impeccable in its research, Choosing Truman is an engrossing, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the nation's thirty-third president.

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156

Publisher

University of Missouri Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0826272983

ISBN 13

9780826272980

Truman and the Hiroshima Cult

By: Robert P. Newman

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Truman and the Hiroshima Cult

By: Robert P. Newman

The United States dropped atomic bombs on Japan in 1945 to end World War II as quickly and with as few casualties as possible. That is the compelling and elegantly simple argument Newman puts forward in his new study of World War II's end, Truman and the Hiroshima Cult. According to Newman: (1) The U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey conclusions that Japan was ready to surrender without "the Bomb" are fraudulent; (2) America’s "unconditional surrender" doctrine did not significantly prolong the war; and (3) President Harry S. Truman’s decision to use atomic weapons on Japanese cities was not a "racist act," nor was it a calculated political maneuver to threaten Joseph Stalin’s Eastern hegemony. Simply stated, Newman argues that Truman made a sensible military decision. As commander in chief, he was concerned with ending a devastating and costly war as quickly as possible and with saving millions of lives. Yet, Newman goes further in his discussion, seeking the reasons why so much hostility has been generated by what happened in the skies over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August, 1945. The source of discontent, he concludes, is a "cult" that has grown up in the United States since the 1960s. It was weaned on the disillusionment spawned by concerns about a military industrial complex, American duplicity and failure in the Vietnam War, and a mistrust of government following Watergate. The cult has a shrine, a holy day, a distinctive rhetoric of victimization, various items of scripture, and, in Japan, support from a powerful Marxist constituency. "As with other cults, it is ahistorical," Newman declares. "Its devotees elevate fugitive and unrepresentative events to cosmic status. And most of all, they believe." Newman’s analysis goes to the heart of the process by which scholars interpret historical events and raises disturbing issues about the way historians select and distort evidence about the past to suit special political agendas.

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Page Count

290

Publisher

MSU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0870139401

ISBN 13

9780870139406

America, Past and Present

By: Robert A. Divine,R. Hal Williams

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America, Past and Present

By: Robert A. Divine,R. Hal Williams

With its careful balance of the social and political dimensions of the American past, "America Past and Present, Sixth Edition, Volume Two" helps readers grasp the scope and the complexity of American history since 1865. This book integrates political, diplomatic, social, cultural and economic history into one rich narrative that tells the story of all Americans-whites, blacks, Native Americans, Hispanics, women, politicians, business leaders, and the everyday person on the street. For anyone interested in American history since 1865.

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Page Count

662

Publisher

Longman Publishing Group

Published Date

ISBN 10

0321084039

ISBN 13

9780321084033

Dean Acheson

A Life in the Cold War

By: Robert L. Beisner

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Dean Acheson

A Life in the Cold War

By: Robert L. Beisner

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.

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818

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199754896

ISBN 13

9780199754892

U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security

Chronology and Index for the 20th Century [2 volumes]

By: Robert T. Davis II

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U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security

Chronology and Index for the 20th Century [2 volumes]

By: Robert T. Davis II

This comprehensive guide provides an in-depth, chronological overview of issues and policy processes related to U.S. foreign, military, and national security policy during the 20th century. U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security: Chronology and Index for the 20th Century provides a unique compilation of data never before combined in a single volume. Key events and policy meetings are arranged in order by presidential administration, from the McKinley administration to that of President Obama. Each section begins with a concise list of policymakers, including Cabinet-level officials, members of the National Security Council, and senior ranks of the Department of State and Department of Defense, supplemented with bibliographic data. The bulk of each chapter is comprised of detailed lists of meetings of the president of the United States with key advisors and foreign dignitaries. These meetings include international conferences, meetings between the president and foreign leaders, meetings of the joint chiefs of staff in World War II, and meetings of the National Security Council since its creation in 1947. This unprecedented guide will be invaluable to researchers and, indeed, to anyone interested in the decisions that determined the course of U.S. history.

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869

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0313383863

ISBN 13

9780313383861

Weapons for Victory

The Hiroshima Decision Fifty Years Later

By: Robert James Maddox

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Weapons for Victory

The Hiroshima Decision Fifty Years Later

By: Robert James Maddox

On the morning of August 6, 1945, the American B-29 Enola Gay released an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. On August 9 another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Fifty years have passed since these catastrophic events, and the bombings still remain highly controversial. The official justification for using these weapons was that they prevented enormous losses on both sides by avoiding an Allied invasion of Japan. Many diplomatic historians, however, have asserted that the bombings were unnecessary. One extreme argument is that Truman knew the Japanese were ready to surrender but wanted to use the bombs to intimidate the Soviet Union. Robert Maddox examines all these claims in Weapons for Victory as he strives to dispel the many myths that have been accepted as fact. In addition to Maddox's valuable recasting of the circumstances leading to the bombings, he also confronts the proposed Smithsonian Enola Gay exhibit with careful historical analysis.

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244

Publisher

University of Missouri Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0826215629

ISBN 13

9780826215628

Harry S. Truman

A Life

By: Robert H. Ferrell

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Harry S. Truman

A Life

By: Robert H. Ferrell

Few U.S. presidents have captured the imagination of the American people as has Harry S. Truman, “the man from Missouri.” In this major new biography, Robert H. Ferrell, widely regarded as an authority on the thirty-third president, challenges the popular characterization of Truman as a man who rarely sought the offices he received, revealing instead a man who—with modesty, commitment to service, and basic honesty—moved with method and system toward the presidency. Truman was ambitious in the best sense of the word. His powerful commitment to service was accompanied by a remarkable shrewdness and an exceptional ability to judge people. He regarded himself as a consummate politician, a designation of which he was proud. While in Washington, he never succumbed to the “Potomac fever” that swelled the heads of so many officials in that city. A scrupulously honest man, Truman exhibited only one lapse when, at the beginning of 1941, he padded his Senate payroll by adding his wife and later his sister. From his early years on the family farm through his pivotal decision to use the atomic bomb in World War II, Truman’s life was filled with fascinating events. Ferrell’s exhaustive research offers new perspectives on many key episodes in Truman’s career, including his first Senate term and the circumstances surrounding the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. In addition, Ferrell taps many little-known sources to relate the intriguing story of the machinations by which Truman gained the vice presidential nomination in 1944, a position which put him a heartbeat away from the presidency. No other historian has ever demonstrated such command over the vast amounts of material that Robert Ferrell brings to bear on the unforgettable story of Truman’s life. Based upon years of research in the Truman Library and the study of many never-before-used primary sources, Harry S. Truman is destined to become the authoritative account of the nation’s favorite president.

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520

Publisher

University of Missouri Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0826260454

ISBN 13

9780826260451

Beyond Nuclear Thinking

By: Robert W. Malcolmson

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Beyond Nuclear Thinking

By: Robert W. Malcolmson

Most of what is written on nuclear weapons concentrates, understandably, on the here and now: the nuclear threat is a central and continuing fact of modern history . But this is intellectually constricting, both for understanding the nuclear age and for making thoughtful political judgments. It is essential to recognize what we have inherited since 1945 and why people have thought about nuclear weapons in the way they have. In Beyond Nuclear Thinking, Robert Malcolmson analyses the development of nuclear weapons and nuclear strategy since 1945, connecting the legacies of the past with the politics of the 1990s. The nuclear nation states still consider it legitimate to use the threat of nuclear weapons to achieve their own ends. Malcolmson explains why the doctrine of "deterrence" became so central to the political idea of security and reveals the confused nature of recent approaches to the pursuit of international security. Beyond Nuclear Thinking presents a non-technical and broadly based interpretation of important aspects of life and thought in the nuclear age.

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156

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McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published Date

ISBN 10

077356263X

ISBN 13

9780773562639

The Gremlin's Grampa

By: Robert L. Fish

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The Gremlin's Grampa

By: Robert L. Fish

A quartet of killings threaten to derail Lieutenant James Reardon’s relationship—and end his life Jan has been dating James Reardon long enough to know that she wants to be with him forever, but she will not marry him as long as he’s a cop. She has spent too many nights lying awake, afraid that this will be the case that gets him killed, and she cannot make that her whole life. But she and Reardon both know that death is the only thing that could make him take off his badge—and for this hard-boiled San Francisco detective, death may come sooner than he thinks. It starts with a stabbing in the Embarcadero. A particularly sleazy bartender has gotten knifed in the gut, and he is dead before the cops arrive. Three more killings follow, and each time the victim is one of the city’s worst criminals. Is it a vendetta, or a vigilante? Reardon will risk his life to find out. The Gremlin’s Grampa is the 2nd book in the Lieutenant Reardon Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

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177

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1504012720

ISBN 13

9781504012720

The End of an Alliance

James F. Byrnes, Roosevelt, Truman, and the Origins of the Cold War

By: Robert L. Messer

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The End of an Alliance

James F. Byrnes, Roosevelt, Truman, and the Origins of the Cold War

By: Robert L. Messer

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411

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UNC Press Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1469640252

ISBN 13

9781469640259

Book's by Robert L. Messer

The End of an Alliance

The End of an Alliance

Nuclear Fallacies

Nuclear Fallacies

The Transformation of South Korea

The Transformation of South Korea

From War To Cold War

From War To Cold War

FDR's Funeral Train

FDR's Funeral Train

Choosing Truman

Choosing Truman

Truman and the Hiroshima Cult

Truman and the Hiroshima Cult

America, Past and Present

America, Past and Present

Dean Acheson

Dean Acheson

U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security

U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security

Weapons for Victory

Weapons for Victory

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Beyond Nuclear Thinking

Beyond Nuclear Thinking

The Gremlin's Grampa

The Gremlin's Grampa

The End of an Alliance

The End of an Alliance

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