The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They MadeWith a new introduction by the authors, this is the classic account of the American statesmen who rebuilt the world after the catastrophe of World War II. A captivating blend of personal biography and public drama, The Wise Men introduces six close friends who shaped the role their country would play in the dangerous years following World War II. They were the original best and brightest, whose towering intellects, outsize personalities, and dramatic actions would bring order to the postwar chaos and leave a legacy that dominates American policy to this day. The Wise Men shares the stories of Averell Harriman, the freewheeling diplomat and Roosevelt’s special envoy to Churchill and Stalin; Dean Acheson, the secretary of state who was more responsible for the Truman Doctrine than Truman and for the Marshall Plan than General Marshall; George Kennan, self-cast outsider and intellectual darling of the Washington elite; Robert Lovett, assistant secretary of war, undersecretary of state, and secretary of defense throughout the formative years of the Cold War; John McCloy, one of the nation’s most influential private citizens; and Charles Bohlen, adroit diplomat and ambassador to the Soviet Union. |
Contents
| 5 | |
Joint VenturesHarriman and Lovett on Wall Street | |
World CourtsMcCloy and Acheson before the | |
A Pretty Good ClubKennan and Bohlen in the Foreign Service | |
On Active ServiceEnlisting in a noble cause | |
Heavenly Twins McCloy and Lovett at the War Department | |
Missions to MoscowHarriman Acheson Bohlen and Kennan wrestle with a biting bear | |
Two CREATION | |
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The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made Walter Isaacson,Evan Thomas No preview available - 2013 |
Common terms and phrases
advisers ally ambassador American asked atomic authors Averell Harriman became began believed Berlin bomb Bundy Byrnes cables called Churchill Clark Clifford Clifford Club Communist Congress crisis Dean Acheson Dean Rusk Defense Democratic Department diary dinner diplomatic dissertation Dulles E. H. Harriman Europe felt force foreign policy Forrestal friends FRUS George F George Kennan Germany Groton Harriman and Abel Harry Truman Harvard Hopkins John McCloy Johnson Kennan papers Kennedy knew Korea Kremlin later recalled letter MacArthur Marshall Plan McCloy's McGeorge Bundy meeting memo Memoirs military Molotov Moscow negotiations Paul Nitze peace Poland political postwar President Princeton University Robert Lovett role Roosevelt Rusk Russians Secretary seemed Senate Soviet Union Special Envoy speech Stalin Stimson talk told troops Truman Library Vandenberg Vietnam Wall Street wanted warned Washington White House William Bundy Witness to History worried wrote York