Architects of Power: Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and the American Century (Brief Encounters) [Hardcover]

Philip Terzian (Author)

Book Description

Series: Brief Encounters | Publication Date: June 8, 2010

The United States is not a preternaturally inward-looking nation, and isolation is not the natural disposition of Americans. The real question is not whether Americans are prone to isolation or engagement, but how their engagement with the world has evolved, how events have made the United States a superpower, and how these developments have been guided by political leadership. Indeed, the great debates on foreign affairs in American history have not been about whether to have debates on foreign affairs; they have been between the competing visions of American influence in the world.

In Architects of Power, Philip Terzian examines two public figures in the twentieth century who personify, in their lives, careers, and philosophies, the rise of the United States of America to global leadership: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Terzian reveals how both men recognized and acted on the global threats of their time and questions whether America can rise to the same challenges today. Without this clear window into the stricken world that Roosevelt inhabited and Eisenhower understood, we are unlikely to recognize the perils and challenges of the world we have inherited.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Terzian, literary editor of the Weekly Standard, describes the impact of Franklin Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower on the dramatic transformation of the United States from a relatively quiet secondary position in the world to its current hyperpower status. Though vastly different in upbringing and early experiences, Roosevelt and Eisenhower shared, says Terzian, a firm belief in American resources and American capabilities. Each managed to direct his personal ambition toward projecting and protecting the best interests of his country and, through intelligence, ability, and charm, provided leadership to a world in need of fresh ideas and firm responses. Roosevelt understood that American prosperity depended not only on American security but on the security of the world as a whole, and Eisenhower grasped the fact that calm analysis of various crises and a meaningful doctrine of peace through strength would ensure the continuation of that security. This regrettably too brief essay makes its point that the 20th century was indeed the American century and that America's rise to leadership, even with the flaws inherent in that leadership, has produced great benefits for the global community. (June)
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About the Author

Philip Terzian has been a political and cultural journalist for nearly forty years. He has written and edited for the New Republic, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, The New Criterion and the Times Literary Supplement. Since 2005, he has been Literary Editor of the Weekly Standard. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Encounter Books; 1 edition (June 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594033781
• ISBN-13: 978-1594033780
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #917,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Philip Terzian is Literary Editor of The Weekly Standard in Washington, DC. Born and raised in Kensington, Md., he attended the Sidwell Friends School in Washington and holds a BA in English from Villanova. He has done graduate work in history at Oxford and in theology at the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia. While still an undergraduate he was a speechwriter for Democratic National Chairman Lawrence O'Brien. As a journalist for nearly 40 years, he has worked at the Anniston Star in Alabama and the Lexington Herald in Kentucky, the Reuters Washington bureau, was assistant editor of The New Republic, assistant editor of the editorial pages at the Los Angeles Times, and editor of the editorial pages at The Providence Journal. At the Journal he also wrote a twice-weekly op-ed column, syndicated by the Scripps Howard News Service for nearly 20 years, and was a Pulitzer finalist in commentary. During 1978-79 he was a speechwriter for Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. He is a member of the American Council on Germany, has been a media fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, and a Pulitzer juror in commentary and international reporting. He has been a contributor to The Wall Street Journal, Times Literary Supplement, Harper's, Commentary, Commonweal, The New Criterion, The Washington Post, The American Spectator, The London Daily Telegraph, and numerous other publications. He is also an amateur jazz pianist, collector of antiquarian books and manuscripts, and a whipper-in of the Wolver Beagles of Middleburg, Va. For several years he was the voice of Franklin D. Roosevelt for the FDR Library in Hyde Park, NY. Married to the former Grace Paine of Nashville, Tenn., who is VP/Communications at the Hudson Institute in Washington, he is the father of one son, Hillman, a student at Eastern Virginia Medical School, a one daughter, Gracie, an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, and lives in the Virginia suburbs of Washington.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars elegant, precise and engaging mix of biography and analysis, August 3, 2010

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Ann Marlowe (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Architects of Power: Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and the American Century (Brief Encounters) (Hardcover)

Phil Terzian's pointillist portraits of FDR and Eisnhower are riveting in and of themselves. They are a model of great learning lightly worn (check out the frightening bibliography). But they are also directly applicable to today's foreign policy dilemmas. When Terzian writes, "The stated reasons for American participation in World War I ..were legitimate, to be sure, but they failed to define any fundamental American interest in the war's outcome", he might be writing about Afghanistan today. When he says, "Pearl Harbor...exploded the notion that self-sufficiency and generous impulses were sufficient to defend America" he might be talking of another more recent surprise attack on the U.S.. None of this is heavy handed or partisan, and Terzian has a magical gift for making his ideological points persuasively and with exemplary civility. A small gem.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Roosevelt and Eisenhower:The tacit truth of power architects., August 14, 2010

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Roger Hamburg "Roger Hamburg fan" (South Bend,Indiana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Architects of Power: Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and the American Century (Brief Encounters) (Hardcover)

A glance at the book shows its explantory power.The urge to make sweeping prouncements in an age of 24/7 cable and the omnipresent internet and "sound bites" for the blagosphere obscure the undeniable fact that presidential power is NOT always about ringing pronouncements made FOR DOMESTIC-AND PARTISAN effect that may come back to haunt you.Vietnam for JFK and LBJ illustrates that.I try to focus on what the Russian call "za kulisami"-behind the scenes.This may not be perfect transparency but it is sometimes neceassary-even imperative!