Corbin Williamson. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2020. 354 pp. Notes. Biblio. Index. $50.
Reviewed by Commander BJ Armstrong, U.S. Navy
In the earliest days of the Republic, George Washington warned his fellow Americans to avoid entangling alliances. For more than a century and half, U.S. foreign policy tended to follow his advice. Across U.S. history, alliances such as those with the French during the Revolution or the British during World War I were cast aside quickly once the wars they were a part of were over. However, the United States’ assumption of a position of global leadership following the surrenders of Germany and Japan at the end of World War II changed how the United States saw its relationship with the other world powers.