Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938, Eighth Revised Edition

I read the first edition of this book in 1989 as part of required reading in college. I've never been interested in history before I read this book. This book taught history in such a way that you will realize that past is important to move forward. I read it with the same enthusiasm I always have for good fiction. A must read for anyone who wonder how the USA become a major power broker in the world.

This book is an excellent jumping off point for any student of international relations and is quite possibly the best book available for someone who simply wants to know more about American history in the 20th century.The latest edition of this book (up through Clinton's first term as president) covers roughly 58 years of American foreign poicy in 428 pages; since an entire set of books could easily be written about this period there is going to be a good deal that Ambrose glosses over and skips. If you are looking for detail about any one period in American history, look elsewhere. But if you simply want a map of what has been going on in foreign policy then you will be hard pressed to do better than this book."Rise to Globalism" is definitely written from an historical perspective; it reads like a narrative and as such has only the smallest bit of analysis. While this book rates very highly in providing a sense of what has been happening, there is not much to inform you about the political theory, ideology, or trends that underlied decisions that American leaders made in foreign policy. This is not so much a criticism of "Rise to Globalism" (as there is only so much that can be fit into one book); instead take it as a way to differentiate this book from other worthy foreign policy titles that you may be choosing from.Ambrose's prose is excellent and engaging; often I would read large chunks of this book in one sitting. Admittedly a lot has been going on in world politics and to his credit Ambrose knows what is substantial enough to include, and what details to leave to the reader to seek for herself. This helps the book immeasurably, as it rarely gets bogged down in unnecessary detail.An overlooked but extremely helpful part of this book is the extensive bibliography. For each chapter, Ambrose includes a lengthy list of books that the reader can examine to more deeply probe anything that has been included in "Rise to Globalism." While anyone can benefit from this feature, the bibliography will be espcially useful for students as it is an excellent way to quickly find other high quality books on foreign relations (especially useful if one needs information for term papers).Basically, if you are in any way intereseted in American foreign policy this book is a must have. And if you have no interest whatsoever in American foreign policy this book is still highly recommended as it reads very well as a narrative.

This is a classic! Simply the best single volume account of American Foreign Policy I have ever read. Ambrose writes in a clear and concise way, leaving nothing out yet avoiding dry, dull text. His analysis is suburb, his conclusions lucid and thought provoking. This is the book to read if you want a comprehensive overview of America's foreign policy of the past 60 years.