Imperial Brotherhood: Gender and the Making of Cold War Foreign Policy (Culture, Politics, and) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I BEGAN this book seeking to answer a riddle presented by the American military intervention in Southeast Asia during the Kennedy and Johnson years..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, White House, Charles Thayer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...shrewd analysis and solid scholarship..." -- Nan Levinson, The Women's Review of Books

A thought-provoking case study of the inter-connections between gender ideology--especially masculinity and homophobia--and U.S. foreign policy... -- Emily S. Rosenberg, author of "Financial Missionaries to the World: The Politics and Culture of Dollar Diplomacy, 1900-1930"

Dean's profiles of key American policymakers greatly deepens our understanding of the origins of the Vietnam War. -- Christian G. Appy, editor of "Cold War Constructions: The Political Culture of United States Imperialism, 1945-1966" --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

An analysis of how culture, class and gender shaped American foreign policy during the Cold War. The author examines the institutions that shaped the members of the US foreign policy establishment, including all-male prep schools and Ivy-League universities.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558494146
• ISBN-13: 978-1558494145
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #889,958 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, October 5, 2006

By	Bill Haywood "velocity_books" (Jersey) - See all my reviews

A persuasive book. The author traces the lives of Cold War leaders from the formative years in boarding prep schools, through their prime. He finds that concepts of masculinity were always a part of seemingly technical policy making. These leaders came from common backgrounds and shared common assumptions about being a man, which shaped their decisions.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Imperial Boredom and the falsehood of gender construction, June 3, 2008

By	Die Maus "Thinking of the World!!!" (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This has to be the worst "history" book written for the 21st Century. There is no real scholarship here, no real argument worth defending, no real connection of any kind to the reality of the American foreign policy decision making process during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Simply put, not only is this book awful, it doesn't make any sense.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Revisionist SWILL, May 11, 2007

By	Sarah Reed "Sarah" (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews

This is quite possibly the worst history book I have ever read. Blaming Vietnam on politicians who held their pride before anything else is laughable. K.A. Cuordilione offers a FAR BETTER account of gender politics and the Vietnam era.

Dean should be embarrassed with this paltry attempt at historical writing.