The Most Noble Adventure: The Marshall Plan and the Time When America Helped Save Europe

This is an exceptional book telling the story of America's critical role in the reconstruction of Europe following World War II, a period when even the largest nations of Western Europe were in peril of economic and political collapse in the aftermath of the war's destruction. The most extraordinary aspect of the book is that it reads as easily as the best novel; like Robert Massie's "Peter the Great", you have trouble putting it down. There is likely to be something new for even the most avid history buff as Behrman has done such extensive research (well documented) into contemporary accounts by so many participants and observers. The Marshall plan rescued millions of Europeans from economic depression and in the process became the groundwork for our winning the Cold War.

It's hard to imagine sometimes and easy to forget that once America was truly transformative as a nation. Through the Marshall plan, we saved Europe from the grip of crippling poverty and the encroach of Communism. In many ways, as this book points out, the Marshall plan was the very best of America and America at its true apogee, at least when it comes to American foreign policy during peacetime. The brightest, most creative, and most idealistic and noble of an American generation answered the call and gave their all for their country. Their story is the story of the Marshall plan and the story of this book.

On 5 June 1947, US Secretary of State General George Marshall (he always preferred "General") gave Harvard University's Commencement Address from the steps of the Memorial Chapel aboard the pristine Cambridge campus. Marshall's speech provided the broadest outlines of what would come to be known as the "Marshall Plan," a plan to reinvigorate and rehabilitate Western Europe. Greg Behrman's fine new book tells the subsequent story of what is generally regarded as the greatest foreign policy triumph in US history. Behrman writes for a purpose, and he tells us right away what it is. As a young historian who graduated from Princeton, earned a Master's Degree from Oxford, and is currently serving as a fellow at The Aspen Institute in Colorado, Behrman believes that in the post 9/11 world, the US has not yet responded with "comparable depth or imagination" to the challenges posed, and further believes that the Marshall Plan "contains insights that speak to the current American moment with resonance and urgency." Behrman's stated purpose in "The Most Noble Adventure" is to "help to illuminate a brighter path forward." Behrman cites three broad reasons for the Marshall Plan's success. The first is an uncommon degree of bipartisanship shown by the US Congress. This was most deftly orchestrated by Senator Arthur Vandenberg of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Vandenberg helped to steer a then-largely isolationist Republican Party to understand the benefits of aiding Western Europe at a time when it needed a helping hand most. Indeed, Vandenberg viewed aid to Europe as a true national security issue, and saw that it could shore up the western democracies as a bulwark against Stalin's expansionist USSR. Behrman makes clear that without Vandenberg's strong support, the Marshall Plan would never have passed a skeptical and inward-looking Congress eager to use funds to focus on problems back home. Behrman's second theme is that the Marshall Plan was truly an international and multilateral endeavor. US diplomats worked closely with foreign leaders such as Clement Atlee and Ernest Bevin of England; Georges Bidault, Paul Ramadier, Robert Schuman, and Jean Monnet of France; and Konrad Adenauer of West Germany, among many, many others to engender a new era of Western European peace and prosperity. The sixteen countries that were the ultimate beneficiaries of Marshall Plan aid had countless disagreements over the distribution of that aid, the pace of European integration, and the industrial future of Germany. But US and European bureaucrats showed an unusual degree of diplomatic skill over the course of many conferences, summits, and backroom deals, to find workable solutions to nearly every problem they faced. While Behrman acknowledges that it is was highly probable that the looming specter of Stalin's exportation of communist ideology and the terrible winter of 1947 might have bonded the Western European countries together without a gentle push from th

There are many in the United States who believe, rightly so, that the post-World War II period was this country's finest. Having triumphed in war, we then went on to win an even broader peace. The plan to bring that peace, brilliantly conceived by the man after whom it was named, General George C. Marshall, was then (and is now) considered to be the finest overture of any nation helping any other nations in history. Greg Behrman's comprehensive and insightful new book about the Marshall Plan, "The Most Noble Adventure", delves into every aspect of the plan's success...economic, political, historical and social and reveals the personalities that helped the plan get off the ground and keep going. Behrman has a talent for telling the story and he does so in a most compelling way. This book is as much about Marshall as it is about those who came under his sphere during the years of the plan's conception and deployment. The cast runs far and wide. Will Clayton, whom Behrman describes as the "intellectual architect" of the Marshall Plan was as influential as they come. His business skills were a boon to the plan and without him it is unlikely it would have gotten very far. Dean Acheson and Averell Harriman, two longtime government servants of remarkable note, helped steer European leaders when times and tensions became rough. Richard Bissell was the point man on how the money would be spent. Paul Hoffman, the Republican businessman who agreed to head the Economic Cooperation Administration, lent an air of bipartisanship desperately needed in the Truman administration. His contributions to the Marshall Plan are almost without equal. There are many more Americans, of course, but one cannot overlook the political importance of Senator Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan. Staunchly isolationist before Pearl Harbor, Vandenberg changed his views over time and helped shepherd the Marshall Plan through Congress. Behrman points out that one of the goals of the Marshall Plan was to ensure that Europe would take the lead in determining its own fate and the plan was to be of assistance to this end. Not only did the United States hope to see Europe recover but the architects of the Marshall Plan hoped for the integration of Europe. That took longer, but the key player was Frenchman Jean Monnet's joint sovereignty proposal that allowed for France's sharing coal and steel resources with Germany along their common border. This magnificent proposal got the integration idea rolling. Another European of merit gets quite a bit of note in Behrman's book, British foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, who often had to chart a lonely course of his own. The author is particularly adept at describing the tensions that arose at just about every level and with every country. Grand ideas are hard to implement and the fact that the Marshall Plan was able to circumvent the landmines that were placed before it is a true testament to the courage and will of the people mentioned above and othe

It is difficult to follow-up on a definitive book such as the Invisible People, Greg Behrman's factual yet deeply poignant book about AIDS in Africa which has inspired many Americans to take action to help alleviate the tragic pandemic effecting the African people. Yet, I can conclusively write that Behrman has done it again with his recently published book, The Most Noble Adventure. Behrman has taken the Marshall Plan and brought it to life with his description of all the key players such as Paul Hoffman, Averell Harriman, Richard Bissell, Will Clayton and Arthur Vandenberg. Behrman describes a George Marshall who is beholden to none except the interests of his country. The author describes how Marshall viewed the economic conditions in Europe as not only a huge humanitarian issue but also a potentially dangerous bridge to communism. Behrman also introduces Arthur Vandenberg, a major figure in The Noble Adventure, as an inspirational Republican U.S. senator who transcended party politics to "do the right thing". Without Vandenberg, an ex-isolationist, the Marshall Plan would never have passed through congress.Finally, Behrman's narrative takes the reader through the enactment of The Plan and all of its benefits to Europe and the United States as well as the unwinding of The Plan and the surrounding global political climate. Behrman does an excellent job in educating the reader on what it takes to implement a program as complex as the Marshall Plan. He also describes the necessary bi-partisan support needed to capture the American public as well as the Congress. Behrman introduces us to players that remind us that while Marshall was a key player in The Plan, he was only one player in ensuring its acceptance and implementation. We also get a close view of the flawed Soviet thinking and strategy that eventually led to a Europe beyond its reach. Behrman reminds us that there are many applications of the Marshall Plan in today's world such as in Iraq, the Middle East and Africa. History repeats itself and as Behrman implies, repetition is not always negative but can actually be very positive if all parties come together to choose a noble adventure that, in today's world, can yield very important and life saving results that can also inch us towards world peace.