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President Kennedy's former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and coauthor Blight (international studies, Brown U.) offer suggestions as to how the United States could and should change its foreign policy and defense policy to incorporate the core objectives of post-WWI Wilsonian ideals. They suggest that the United States make the end of war a major goal of foreign policy and argue that while the U.S. will have to provide leadership, it must not apply its economic, political, or military policy unilaterally. In order to successfully maintain a peaceful world, they believe that a complete rapprochement with China and Russia is necessary in order to prevent the real dangers of Great Power conflict. In addition they offer suggestions towards strengthening the U.N. in a move towards true multilateralism in the reduction of communal violence and the threat from nuclear weapons. c. Book News Inc.

Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• Author's Note(p. xi)
• A 21st-Century Manifesto: Choose Life over Death(p. xv)
• Prologue: Wilson's Tragedy, and Ours(p. 3)
• 1 A Radical Agenda: The U.S. Role in Global Security in the 21st Century(p. 17)
• 2 Preventing Great Power Conflict: Bringing Russia and China in from the Cold(p. 59)
• 3 Reducing Communal Killing: Intervention in "Dangerous, Troubled, Failed, Murderous States"(p. 113)
• 4 Avoiding Nuclear Catastrophe: Moving Steadily and Safely to a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World(p. 169)
• 5 Reducing Human Carnage: An Agenda for the 21st Century(p. 217)
• Epilogue: Listening to Wilson's Ghost(p. 227)
• Notes(p. 231)
• Acknowledgments(p. 253)
• About the Authors(p. 257)
• Index(p. 259)

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Library Journal Review

Former Secretary of Defense McNamara is 85 and still atoning for his role in the Vietnam conflict (see In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam, LJ 4/15/95). His new book, written with international relations expert Blight, takes the ideas and idealism of Woodrow Wilson and sets forth a moral and multilateral formula for achieving peace in the world. The authors advocate the importance of "democratic decision-making" in U.S. foreign policy and increased empathy toward Russia and China. They also warn that the plague of communal violence within nations poses a dilemma for the United States and international organizations, as intervention might not lead to a satisfactory solution of the conflict. McNamara and Blight are especially eloquent in their pleas to end the threat of nuclear catastrophe, and McNamara inserts his personal reflections on the Cuban missile crisis (as well as on the lost opportunities for an early resolution in Vietnam). The authors critique major foreign policy theories and develop a convincing "Wilsonian" framework for U.S. policy. This stimulating and challenging work will do much to redeem McNamara's legacy; recommended for academic and large public libraries. Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

In the 20th century, 160 million people died in war and political violence, the bloodiest century on record. But, warn the authors, unless there is a radical change in the conduct of international affairs, the 21st century could see far more carnage. Drawing on the Wilsonian tradition in American foreign policy, former Secretary of Defense McNamara and Brown University international relations professor Blight (the two also coauthored Argument Without End: In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Tragedy) offer two imperatives the U.S. should follow: a "Moral Imperative," to make it a major goal of U.S. foreign policy to avoid the violence of the previous century, and a "Multilateral Imperative," to disavow the unilateral use of U.S. economic, political and military power when confronting foreign crises or challenges. A moral imperative does not mean violence will never occur, but with such an imperative in place leaders will be far more cautious than in the past in resorting to violence. For the U.S., the moral imperative must be tied to a multilateral imperative. The U.S. is indeed powerful and must lead, but it is not omnipotent, say the authors. Multilateral action can help ensure that the U.S. does not act precipitously, in an ignorant and arrogant fashion. The authors amplify on these imperatives in separate vignettes on the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, where they were applied, and on the Vietnam War, where they were not (McNamara was a participant in both). Finally, the authors address in detail three major problems confronting U.S. foreign policy bringing Russia and China fully into the world community, reducing communal or ethnic violence, eliminating nuclear weapons. Deftly written and cogently argued, this is one of the best recent books on foreign policy. (On-sale: June 5) Forecast: The day before this book hits the stores, McNamara will appear on the Today Show, kicking off a tour to New York, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Given McNamara's position and background, this will generate media attention, but is unlikely to bolster sales much beyond foreign policy-wonk circles. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

CHOICE Review

The authors revisit a debate that goes back to Sun Tsu and Thomas Aquinas. While they do not directly address human nature and its relation to the political process, they do believe that morality can overcome the evils of war. Immanuel Kant's moral imperative, which they oversimplify as "The Golden Rule," is offered as a guide for the actions of statesmen. Borrowing from Kant's Perpetual Peace (1796), they suggest that the only viable path to attain Wilson's vision of a world without war is through collective security. They suggest that the US should almost never use its military forces unitarily. They also believe that the US and Russia should reduce their nuclear forces to zero. Somehow other countries with such forces would be compelled to follow along. They do not adequately address terrorism or chemical and biological weapons. Their plan for a wonderful and happy war-free 21st century will prove as vapid as the promise of the blue birds over the white cliffs of Dover. The book is well written and documented but adds nothing new or interesting to the literature. A suitable acquisition for university libraries. Upper-division undergraduates and above. A. C. Tuttle emeritus, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Booklist Review

Former Secretary of Defense McNamara, perhaps as controversial today as in the 1960s, reunites with Blight, the Brown University international relations professor with whom he wrote Argument Without End (1999), to suggest what should be done to realize Woodrow Wilson's dream of an end to war. Reducing human carnage in the new century, they hold, "requires an unprecedented moral commitment to avoid killing, in addition to an equally unprecedented commitment to `zero-tolerance multilateralism.'" To prevent Great Power conflict, McNamara and Blight suggest, it is essential to "bring Russia and China in from the Cold." To reduce "communal killing" as in Bosnia or Rwanda, they call for multilateral intervention in "dangerous, troubled, failed, murderous states." To avoid nuclear catastrophe, they insist, "nuclear weapons can and must now be eliminated . . . rather than trying . . . to construct a defensive `shield.'" George W. Bush earned points in the 2000 election for calling for a more humble U.S. foreign policy. McNamara and Blight also stress humility, but empathy is an equally important part of their foreign policy prescription. Thoughtful, provocative analysis. --Mary Carroll

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

Robert S. McNamara was born in San Francisco, California on June 9, 1916. He received a degree in economics and philosophy from the University of California (Berkeley) in 1937 and a master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1939. He worked for one year at the accounting firm of Price, Waterhouse in San Francisco, and then in August 1940 returned to Harvard to teach in the business school. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Force.

In 1946, he started working for the Ford Motor Company as manager of planning and financial analysis and on November 9, 1960, he became the first president of Ford Motor Company from outside the family of Henry Ford. He was the Secretary of Defense for both the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations and served from 1961 to 1968. He served as the head of World Bank from 1968 to 1981. He died on July 6, 2009 at the age of 93.

(Bowker Author Biography)