Andrew Preston teaches American history and international relations history at Cambridge University, where he is a fellow of Clare College. Before Cambridge, he taught history and international studies at Yale University. He has also taught at universities in Canada and Switzerland, and has been a fellow at the Cold War Studies Program at the London School of Economics. He is the author of The War Council: McGeorge Bundy, the NSC, and Vietnam.
“Neither pedantic nor superficial. [Preston] is the rare scholar
who can educate a non-academic audience in the complexity of an
important subject. Preston cuts through a confusion that often
surrounds America foreign policy, by laying bare the unusual moral
history behind it, a history that begins with the Puritans and
proceeds in the grooves illuminated in this beautifully written
book.” —Michael Kimmage, The New Republic
“A unified field theory of American foreign relations capturing the
play of personality and politics, passion and hypocrisy—all written
with a style that further distinguishes [Preston] in a domain as
deficient in literary grace as in candour. . . . Preston excels in
portraits of the people at the heart of the matter, from the
Puritans to Barack Obama. No governments here in faceless
generality, no US in absolving abstract, but rather the frame and
temper of human beings in all their force and frailty. History as
biography, his work achieves the most elusive of biographical
rendering—what did they really think about the nature of man and
the universe, and how successfully, as Bierce would put it, did
they adapt faith to the sins of policy. This is no simplistic case
for religion as single cause. Preston’s genius is to find the
blending with all the other, frequently contradictory strains.”
—Roger Morris, The Globe and Mail
“[A] monumental study. . . . This book solidifies Preston’s
reputation as one of the foremost young scholars working in the
great tradition of historical interpretation of war, diplomacy, and
peace. . . Preston describes how America’s religion has been far
more intimately intertwined with its statecraft and foreign policy
than is generally understood. . . . This is not the new master
narrative of America, but it is close enough.” —Charles Hill, The
Wilson Quarterly
“Fascinating. . . . As a comprehensive survey, the book opens up
pathways for others to explore.” —Margaret Quamme, The Columbus
Dispatch
“Encyclopedic. . . . [Preston] leaves no religious stone unturned .
. . I hunger for more.” —Richard I. Immerman, San Francisco
Chronicle
“What is most astonishing is not this or that episode but rather
the ubiquity of religious influence on America’s international
relations, an ubiquity that Preston complains has for far too long
been hidden by the secularist bias of academic historians. A
much-needed corrective to that bias.” —Bryce Christensen, Booklist
(starred review)
“Andrew Preston has written a remarkably comprehensive and
uncommonly wise history about one of the most critical elements in
the making of American foreign policy. It is a landmark work of
scholarship about religion and politics — and a pleasure to
read.” —Michael Kazin, author of American Dreamers
“Andrew Preston demonstrates that one of the keys to understanding
American foreign policy lies at the interstices of religion and
diplomacy. This is a most impressive book, not only for scope
of the author's research but also for his judicious
conclusions.” —Randall Balmer, author of God in the White
House
“[M]arvelously readable. . . . A sharp, clear, deeply researched
examination of the consistent application of the founding religious
principles to American foreign policy.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred
review)
“Reading this book is a thrilling intellectual adventure: it
challenges received ideas at the same time as it throws light on
buried, troubling perplexities and changes the way we view not only
the United States but the rest of the world. Erudite, balanced and
respectful, it could not be more timely and should be required
reading for policy-makers, concerned citizens, atheists and
religious alike.” —Karen Armstrong, author A History of God
“There have been a number of good books on particular aspects
of religion and American foreign policy. But no one before
Andrew Preston has written such a thoroughly researched,
consistently insightful, and ideologically balanced general history
of this timely, important, but strangely under-studied
subject. This splendid book makes a major contribution in its
own right, but also opens up an entire field for much-needed
further study.” —Mark Noll, author of America’s God
“In this landmark work, Andrew Preston sheds light on a critical
element of the American experience: the role of religion in our
relationship to the world. Faith is one of the most influential
factors in our national life, and Preston’s excellent book gives
religion its due as a force that shapes who we are, what wars we
fight, and which causes we make our own.” —Jon Meacham, author of
American Lion
“This extraordinarily important book explores the relatively
unknown link between religion and U.S. foreign policy. The author,
a historian at Cambridge University, shows that religion has
influenced the nation's foreign policies from the intermittent wars
with the Barbary pirates in the 1790s to President Obama's Cairo
speech in 2009. . . . Preston's work is exhaustive . . . in the
opinion of this reviewer, [it] deserves a prize for historical
scholarship and writing.” —Al Menendez, Voice of Reason
“Every now and then a book appears that redefines a
field. This is one of those occasions.” —Andrew J. Bacevich,
Commonweal
In this extensive study, Preston (American & international relations history, Univ. of Cambridge, UK; The War Council: McGeorge Bundy, the NSC, and Vietnam) moves elegantly from Congregational colonialism's war with the Pequot through post-9/11 involvement in Afghanistan, tracing how American imperatives have been tinged with religious zeal. He cogently manages the breadth of his topic by use of such concepts as "Christian Republicanism," a persistent anti-Catholic strain, and serial U.S. "crusades" that started in Cuba and the Philippines in 1898 and have persisted in interventions ever since. Preston reminds us that while religion is only a single component in America's relationship with the world, it plays a distinct role in that relationship. Historically, religion has helped aggregate the claims of government and the opposition. Preston tells his story through individuals: devout American Presidents, zealous missionaries, and original thinkers such as James R. Mott and Reinhold Niebuhr. While Preston avoids commenting on current political issues, his book is relevant to questions such as the debates between libertarians and social conservatives. He sees the recent surge in Christian fundamentalism and evangelism as rooted in the McCarthy era. VERDICT Such a broadly conceived book not only will provoke controversy but also will appeal to readers beyond students of American history and religion.-Zachary T. Irwin, Pennsylvania State Univ., Erie (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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