Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy since 1938

[Bryan Corn]

Rise to Globalism, written by Stephen Ambrose, is a history of United States foreign policy from World War II to the Clinton administration. Although packed with information, this book reads like a novel and anyone who is interested in knowing how we came from a nation with no standing army to a global empire with troops on the ground in almost every country.

Ambrose gives us a look into each president’s term and details the difficult choices they were faced with while they were in power as well as giving us the background information about the situation. Not only are we presented with the thought process involved as extracted from biographies and journals, but we are also given the opinions and thoughts of cabinet members and other world leaders as well.

An entire chapter is given to each administration while most wars and major conflicts get dedicated chapters also. The Second World War is covered in three chapters: One for each theater and one covering the immediate aftermath and the start of the Cold War.

Originally written the 1970s, this book has been revised several times and is over 400 pages so it is not a quick read and not recommended for anyone who prefers not to read a book filled with names and dates. Although Ambrose died in 2002, Rise to Globalism is still being updated by Douglas Brinkley.

Reinforcing the idea that war is obsolete, this book takes the reader through one conflict to the next and shows us that war brings more war. I think this should be required reading for anyone who wants to discuss the political landscape of the world. Understanding how we got to this point where the U.S. has interests in every corner of the world and becoming involved in more and more in other people’s affairs is the key knowing why the U.S. is less safe and more vulnerable than when there was no military budget at all.

[Elaine Hallmark]

Thanks for this review, Bryan. I am thinking I should read this book!

[Bryan Corn]

Discussion Questions:

1. Can you directly link World War II, the war AFTER the war to end all wars, to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and show that war inevitably leads to more war?

2. Cite five examples of how the U.S. has implemented policies for short-term gain where the cost eventually far outweighed any benefits?

3. How has the United States contradicted the values upon which it was founded because of a preoccupation with an enemy? How has this affected life inside the U.S.? How this affected life in third world countries?

4. Show some examples where a world leader wanted to act in ways to move beyond war but allowed the influence of others not acting by the core practices and principles to escalate conflict.

5. Choose five conflicts covered in Rise to Globalism and state how could things have been done differently to avert future conflicts that inevitable resulted from their conclusion.

6. What were the main sources of the problems for the United States before World War II? What are the root causes of the main problems facing the United States today?