Reviews
In a thoughtful, reasonable analysis, Schwartzberg challenges revisionist historians who portray US Cold War policy toward Latin America as imperialist and reliant on covert operations or military intervention, often in support of pro-US dictators. He focuses on Americans posted in Latin American capitals and ranges from Peron's Argentina to Haya de la Torre's Peru and Betancourt's Venezuela, with briefer stops in Costa Rica, Cuba, Brazil, Ecuador, and Guatemala. Schwartzberg finds that during Truman's presidency, policy reflected less the imperatives of the Cold War than the desire to encourage democracy. --Choice
--Choice
"A boldly revisionist interpretation of the fundamental motivations behind US foreign policy over the longue duree."--The Royal Institute of International Affairs
--The Royal Institute of International Affairs
"A refreshing return to an earlier generation of American diplomatic historians. . . . A bold challenge to other historians who are quick to criticize and reluctant to put their own values and policy prescriptions on the line."
--The Journal of American History
"This is an important book that will benefit all those interested in Latin America and U.S. diplomacy . . . The book provides a valuable historical framework and set of lessons for those who, as Schwartzberg puts it, 'place a high value on democratic solidarity and respect for national sovereignty [as] . . . part of the common culture of the modern world.'"
--Hispanic American Historical Review
"Democracy and U.S. Policy" brings to life a unique group of diplomats who, Schwartzberg effectively demonstrates, believed that the time was right for cooperation between hemispheric governments on the basis of the ideology that had just won World War II.
--The Americas
An iconoclastic diplomatic historian lauds liberal internationalists for skillfully supporting struggling democrats during the early Truman years.
--Foreign Affairs