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.
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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).
GoodLib --
ReplyDeleteI 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