Book Reviews : United States Foreign Policy: Perspective and Analysis. By WILLIAM P. GER- BERDING. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966. Pp. xiii, 383. 7.95.)
| Date | 01 December 1966 |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591296601900422 |
| Published date | 01 December 1966 |
| Author | Charles E. Martin |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
745
comfort
from
the
fact
that
his
shorter
work
on
an
important
aspect
of
English
law
not
only
is
a
valuable
and
extraordinarily
useful
contribution
to
the
literature,
but
is
certain
to
remain
valuable
and
useful
for
a
long
time
to
come,
let
David
Fellman
turn
to
a
much
needed
and
eagerly
awaited
revision
of
his
American
study.
Or
is
he
waiting
for
the
Court
to
grow
weary
and
slow
its
rate
of
change?
San
Diego
State
College
NED
V.
JOY
United
States
Foreign
Policy:
Perspective
and
Analysis.
By
WILLIAM
P.
GER-
BERDING.
(New
York:
McGraw-Hill
Book
Company,
1966.
Pp.
xiii,
383.
7.95.)
Books
and
pamphlets
on
United
States
foreign
policy
today
are
legion.
Many
make
little
or
no
contribution
to
thinking
on
the
subject;
some
have
varying
degrees
of
significance;
a
few
really
aid
the
student
and
reader
in
the
thinking
process
as
applied
to
foreign
policy.
William
Gerberding’s
work
is
distinctly
of
the
latter
category.
The
author
seems
fond
of
such
words
as
&dquo;systematic,&dquo;
&dquo;analytical,&dquo;
&dquo;criticism,&dquo;
and
&dquo;perspective.&dquo;
He
appears
committed
to
the
school
of
foreign
policy
which
these
terms
logically
imply.
Nevertheless,
he
does
not
fit
American
foreign
policy
into
any
theoretical
mold.
Too
many
writers
in
this
field
enjoy
the
sensation
of
making
up
their
minds
on
United
States
foreign
policy.
They
are
also
much
intrigued
with
the
process
by
which
they
make
up
their
minds,
and
assume
that
others
are
as
interested
as
they
themselves.
Gerberding
avoids
these
pitfalls;
a
tra-
ditionalist
in
American
foreign
policy
may
make
excellent
use
of
this
volume
without
impeaching
his
own
school
of
thought
or
that
of
the
author’s.
The
subtitle,
&dquo;Perspective
and
Analysis,&dquo;
is
the
more
accurate
title,
since
the
book
does
not
deal
with
United
States
foreign
policy
in
the
conventional
sense.
It
discusses
events
and
developments
since
1945,
and
in
the
main
covers
foreign
policy-making
and
the
problems
of
foreign
policy
rather
than
foreign
policies
per
se.
The
volume
seems
quite
cut
off
from
the
past
history
of
our
foreign
policy.
It
also
fails
to
emphasize
settled
or
developing
principles
as
such.
This
seems
too
much
of
a
concession
to
recent
and
current
developments.
It also
emphasizes
too
greatly
the
&dquo;problem&dquo;
as
against
the
&dquo;policy.&dquo;
However,
this
sort
of
coverage
would
have
required
the
author
to
write
a
different
kind
of
book.
Part
I
attempts
to
place
recent
foreign
policy
facts
and
events
into
perspective.
It
also
discusses
and
explains
some
basic
concepts.
This
is
a
real
service
to
a
stu-
dent.
It
also
describes
foreign
policy-making
through
both
congressional
and
presi-
dential
action.
Finally,
Part
I
uses
the
cold
war
as
a
laboratory
illustrating
the
legislative
and
executive
roles,
with
attention
to
the
cold
war’s
origins
prior
to
World
War
II,
and
to
its
development
from
1945
to
the
perceptible
confrontations
between
the
East
and
the
West.
In
Part
II
the
author
discusses
three
major
problems
of
American
foreign
policy:
relations
with
the
United
States,
the
national
defense,
and
foreign
aid.
He
makes
a
welcome
distinction
between
the
United
Nations
and
American
policy
in
relations
thereto.
He
treats
of
the
&dquo;politics&dquo;
of
defense,
national
and
international,
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