Soon enough, one hopes, we can expect to see Gaddis' long-awaited biography of George Kennan. But until then, this essay can stand as pretty good testimony for why Gaddis and his work matter so much.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Gaddis on Acheson
The estimable John Lewis Gaddis, doyen of Cold War historians, has a tour de force review essay in the forthcoming issue of The New Republic. Tackling Robert L. Beisner's new biography, Dean Acheson: A Life in the Cold War, Gaddis makes a point that I mhave been arguing for a while: That much of the Bush doctrine essentially hearkens back to the fundamental premises of Cold War liberalism. The problem is in the execution (and perhaps in the messenger).
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1 comment:
GoodLib --
I do wonder if Judt is misunderstanding Gaddis' audience for this book, however. It seems that it is geared toward a general and not scholarly audience, which would not forgive all, but some, of the alleged sins.
I am looking forward to the Kennan bio as well.
Thanks for the link to the review, btw.
dcat
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