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Memories, Myths, and Realities in the 1950s
Columbia University Press
May 2012
On Sale: May 1, 2012
288 pages ISBN: 0231159242 EAN: 9780231159241 Kindle: B007SWH5UG Hardcover / e-Book
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Non-Fiction
Nancy Bernkopf Tucker confronts the coldest period of the
cold war—the moment in which personality, American political
culture, public opinion, and high politics came together to
define the Eisenhower Administration's policy toward China.
A sophisticated, multidimensional account based on
prodigious, cutting edge research, this volume convincingly
portrays Eisenhower's private belief that close relations
between the United States and the People's Republic of China
were inevitable and that careful consideration of the PRC
should constitute a critical part of American diplomacy. Tucker controversially argues that the Eisenhower
Administration's hostile rhetoric and tough actions toward
China obscure the president's actual views. Behind the
scenes, Eisenhower and his Secretary of State, John Foster
Dulles, pursued a more nuanced approach, one better suited
to China's specific challenges and the stabilization of the
global community. Tucker deftly explores the contradictions
between Eisenhower and his advisors' public and private
positions. Her most powerful chapter centers on trade and
Eisenhower's recognition that rigid prohibitions would
undermine the global postwar economic recovery and push
China into a closer relationship with the Soviet Union.
Ultimately, Tucker finds Eisenhower's strategic thinking on
Europe and his fear of toxic, anticommunist domestic
politics constrained his leadership, making a fundamental
shift in U.S. policy toward China difficult if not
impossible. Consequently, the president was unable to engage
congress and the public effectively on China, ultimately
failing to realize his own high standards as a leader.
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