READING NOTES--Leffler, pp. 141-265.
- p. 141--Forrestal quote key in capturing a sense of the climate of the
time--and a warning to us to not read events in this period through
hindsight
- pp. 141-147--skimmable--sets the scene
- p. 145 impt--sense of congressional role; did HST exaggerate his domestic
difficulties?
- pp. 147-151--impt--good preview of the intense bureaucratic rivalries
between State and DOD that characterize early stages of Cold War
- 151-157--skimmable; recounts diplomatic events
- 157-164--impt; good summary of Marshall Plan and its long-term importance
- 164-174--you need to have a sense of the international basis of US
commitments, but probably no more than that. Did HST administration policymakers
distinguish between Europe and elsewhere? Between their treatment of Germany
and Japan?
- 174-179--read closely; a case can be made that the National Security Act
of 1947 was the single most important piece of legislation in the 20th
century US
- 181--interesting take on Kennan's globalism; Leffler's argument is not
shared by all historians on this score.
Chapter 5
- 182-188--read this section closely; it's a good summary of some of the
newer literature in the field, that takes a look at how foreign actors
decisively shaped the US decisionmaking process
- 188-203--skimmable; summary of growing economic distress in Europe
- 197--impt--good sense of what the HST administration considered an appropriate
type of activity for the CIA
- 203-213--Czech coup and aftermath--hard to underestimate its effect; did
the coup make the US more aggressive in Europe--or simply continue
previously existing patterns?
- 213-219--good summary of the dilemmas of US policymakers, and how
decisions taken in the context of one country could increase the overall
sense of tensions
Chapter 6
- 221-229--why did the passage of the National Security Act not produce a
more immediate increase in military spending? Could the Cold War have
developed in a different fashion?
- 229-235--read closely; good summary of difficulties of German question
- 235-246--skimmable, but a good introduction to some of the early postwar
difficulties in the Middle East
- 246-253--skimmable--summary of growing difficulties with China and Korea
- 253-260--read very closely: the nexus between Japan and SE Asia would form
one of the key themes of Cold War foreign policy in East Asia
- 260-265--impt summary of some of Leffler's main arguments