A diplomatic history of the American people [Hardcover]

Thomas Andrew Bailey (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A lively survey of American diplomatic history -- from early origins to the Carter administration. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1015 pages
• Publisher: Appleton-Century-Crofts; 8th edition (1969)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039005027X
• ISBN-13: 978-0390050274
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #753,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Preeminent Foreign Policy Textbook, February 4, 2004

By 

John Jefferson (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Diplomatic History of the American People (Hardcover)

Bailey exhaustively details diplomacy and foreign policy issues throughout the history of the United States up until the latest years included in each edition. Most university history professors or fellow authors, as well as Bailey himself, consider this the most important work of his literary career. Bailey chronicles the research, writing, and difficulty in finding a publisher for this book in his autobiography, The American Pageant Revisited. The average reader may be overwhelmed with using this daunting volume in a one semester university-level Foreign Policy or Diplomacy course. However, this work is second to none in terms of quality and detail, which make it a highly-sought, highly-used work in such situations. Students as well as instructors may wish to supplement this, or even use this as a supplement, with Thomas Patterson's two-volume American Foreign Policy or the memoirs or official biographies of any relevant figures, especially modern figures such as Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon. More advanced or more interested students may wish to follow up on the sources Bailey uses to comprise the bulk of his narrative. Nonetheless, this remains a seminal and irreplaceable work for use in the classroom, in research papers or as the groundwork for a book on foreign policy or diplomatic concerns.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overvieew of history, September 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Diplomatic History of the American People (Hardcover)

I have used this book in college and for preparing high school classes. I find the explanation of historical events to be clear and systematic. The supplemental charts are easy to follow. I recommend this book for finding good explanations for the events that the United States was involved in and about the key players at the time.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Condition of product, February 1, 2011

By 

fah (Lake Arrowhead, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Diplomatic History of the American People (Hardcover)

Overall I am satisfied with my purchase since the content of the 10th edition of this book was the purpose of the purchase. I first read the book as a college student in the early 1960's and it literally opened my eyes to how our country evolved. I recently rediscoverd the book and purchased this particular edition as a refresher and update through the Vietnam War and the 1980's. Bailey's book is essential for anyone's personal library, as it is perhaps the best-researched analysis of the real making of american history (not newspaper headlines or a biased agendized version). Bailey documents the diplomatic (closed-door) dealings that formed and developed this country which is critical in understanding what is happening today.

Unfortunately, the condition of the book I purchased was a little disappointing and distracting since whoever (probably a young student) used the book was very sloppy and abused his broad-tipped red magic marker for underlining and emphansizing his interests and dissatisfactions. Worse, the binding is partially detached making the volume fragile. I believe that I would have listed the condition as marginally acceptable or poor.