{"title":"Andrew Preston","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"war-council-book-andrew-preston-9780674046320","title":"The War Council","description":"Was the Vietnam War unavoidable? Historians have long assumed that ideological views and the momentum of events made American intervention inevitable. By examining the role of McGeorge Bundy and the National Security Council, Andrew Preston demonstrates that policymakers escalated the conflict in Vietnam in the face of internal opposition, external pressures, and a continually failing strategy.  Bundy created the position of National Security Adviser as we know it today, with momentous consequences that continue to shape American foreign policy. Both today's presidential supremacy in foreign policy and the contemporary national security bureaucracy find their origins in Bundy's powers as the first National Security Adviser and in the ways in which he and his staff brought about American intervention in Vietnam. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson were not enthusiastic about waging a difficult war in pursuit of murky aims, but the NSC's bureaucratic dexterity and persuasive influence in the Oval Office skewed the debate in favor of the conflict.  In challenging the prevailing view of Bundy as a loyal but quietly doubting warrior, Preston also revises our understanding of what it meant--and means--to be a hawk or a dove. The War Council is an illuminating and compelling story with two inseparable themes: the acquisition and consolidation of power; and how that power is exercised.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49585617797393,"sku":"GOR013554836","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49864038809873,"sku":"GOR011910974","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50334306795793,"sku":"CIN0674046323G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50530554413329,"sku":"GOR013986983","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51005587882257,"sku":"NIN9780674046320","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0674046323.jpg?v=1751360259"},{"product_id":"methadone-briefing-book-andrew-preston-9780952060017","title":"Methadone Briefing","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49643968626961,"sku":"GOR005056667","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50246054641937,"sku":"GOR003638141","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50252020941073,"sku":"GOR003395862","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0952060019.jpg?v=1751171702"},{"product_id":"american-foreign-relations-book-andrew-preston-9780199899395","title":"American Foreign Relations","description":"For better or worse - be it militarily, politically, economically, technologically, or culturally - Americans have had a profound role in shaping the wider world beyond them. The United States has been a savior to some, a curse to others, but either way such views are often based on a caricature of American actions and intentions. American Foreign Relations, then, is a subject of immense global importance that provokes strong emotions and much debate, but often based on deep misunderstanding. This Very Short Introduction analyzes the key episodes, themes, and individuals in the history of American foreign relations. While discussing diplomacy and the periods of war that have shaped national and international history, it also addresses such topics as industrialization, globalization, imperialism, and immigration. Covering the Revolution through the War on Terror, it examines the connections between domestic politics and foreign affairs, as well as the importance of ideals and values. Sharply written and highly readable, American Foreign Relations offers a clear-eyed narrative of America's role in the world and how it has evolved over time.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49728218759441,"sku":"NGR9780199899395","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50196005093649,"sku":"GOR010647524","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51000169234705,"sku":"NIN9780199899395","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0199899398.jpg?v=1751133079"},{"product_id":"sword-of-the-spirit-shield-of-faith-book-andrew-preston-9781400043231","title":"Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith","description":"\u003cb\u003eWinner of the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction\u003cbr\u003eFinalist for the Cundhill Prize in History\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA richly detailed, profoundly engrossing story of how religion has influenced American foreign relations, told through the stories of the men and women--from presidents to preachers--who have plotted the country's course in the world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEver since John Winthrop argued that the Puritans' new home would be a city upon a hill, Americans' role in the world has been shaped by their belief that God has something special in mind for them. But this is a story that historians have mostly ignored. Now, in the first authoritative work on the subject, Andrew Preston explores the major strains of religious fervor--liberal and conservative, pacifist and militant, internationalist and isolationist--that framed American thinking on international issues from the earliest colonial wars to the twenty-first century. He arrives at some startling conclusions, among them: Abraham Lincoln's use of religion in the Civil War became the model for subsequent wars of humanitarian intervention; nineteenth-century Protestant missionaries made up the first NGO to advance a global human rights agenda; religious liberty was the centerpiece of Franklin Roosevelt's strategy to bring the United States into World War I. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom George Washington to George W. Bush, from the Puritans to the present, from the colonial wars to the Cold War, religion has been one of America's most powerful sources of ideas about the wider world. When, just days after 9\/11, George W. Bush described America as a prayerful nation, a nation that prays to an almighty God for protection and for peace, or when Barack Obama spoke of balancing the just war and the imperatives of a just peace in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, they were echoing four hundred years of religious rhetoric. Preston traces this echo back to its source.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith\u003c\/i\u003e is an unprecedented achievement: no one has yet attempted such a bold synthesis of American history. It is also a remarkable work of balance and fair-mindedness about one of the most fraught subjects in America.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49949223059729,"sku":"GOR005521720","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50784385106193,"sku":"CIN1400043239G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50986378428689,"sku":"CIN1400043239VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":51879581647121,"sku":"CIN1400043239A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1400043239.jpg?v=1750712358"},{"product_id":"sword-of-the-spirit-shield-of-faith-book-andrew-preston-9781400078585","title":"Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith","description":"\u003cb\u003eWinner of the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction\u003cbr\u003e Finalist for the Cundhill Prize in History\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A richly detailed, profoundly engrossing story of how religion has influenced American foreign relations, told through the stories of the men and women--from presidents to preachers--who have plotted the country's course in the world.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Ever since John Winthrop argued that the Puritans' new home would be \"a city upon a hill,\" Americans' role in the world has been shaped by their belief that God has something special in mind for them. But this is a story that historians have mostly ignored. Now, in the first authoritative work on the subject, Andrew Preston explores the major strains of religious fervor--liberal and conservative, pacifist and militant, internationalist and isolationist--that framed American thinking on international issues from the earliest colonial wars to the twenty-first century. He arrives at some startling conclusions, among them: Abraham Lincoln's use of religion in the Civil War became the model for subsequent wars of humanitarian intervention; nineteenth-century Protestant missionaries made up the first NGO to advance a global human rights agenda; religious liberty was the centerpiece of Franklin Roosevelt's strategy to bring the United States into World War II.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e From George Washington to George W. Bush, from the Puritans to the present, from the colonial wars to the Cold War, religion has been one of America's most powerful sources of ideas about the wider world. When, just days after 9\/11, George W. Bush described America as \"a prayerful nation, a nation that prays to an almighty God for protection and for peace,\" or when Barack Obama spoke of balancing the \"just war and the imperatives of a just peace\" in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, they were echoing four hundred years of religious rhetoric. Preston traces this echo back to its source.\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eSword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith\u003c\/i\u003e is an unprecedented achievement: no one has yet attempted such a bold synthesis of American history. It is also a remarkable work of balance and fair-mindedness about one of the most fraught subjects in America.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50159395537169,"sku":"CIN140007858XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52493713735953,"sku":"CIN140007858XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53175312908561,"sku":"GOR009717321","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/140007858X.jpg?v=1750857509"},{"product_id":"total-defense-book-andrew-preston-9780674737389","title":"Total Defense","description":"In the 1930s, amid rising fascism, FDR and the New Dealers invented the doctrine of national security, which obligated the state to guard against not just territorial invasion but also remote threats to the American way of life. Total Defense explores how the new idea of national security transformed the United States and its place in the world.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51597590429969,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51597590692113,"sku":"NGR9780674737389","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51597590757649,"sku":"NIN9780674737389","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51707027751185,"sku":"GOR014371279","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53496254759185,"sku":"CIN0674737385VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0674737385.jpg?v=1782382382"},{"product_id":"outside-in-book-andrew-preston-9780190459857","title":"Outside In","description":"These original essays exemplify how the transnational history of the United States is being written today. The authors offer fresh work that focuses on the circuits of border-crossing activity that Americans have inhabited, while still taking the nation-state seriously.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52332328583441,"sku":"NLS9780190459857","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53345303920913,"sku":"GOR014863330","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780190459857.jpg?v=1758151276"},{"product_id":"outside-in-book-andrew-preston-9780190459840","title":"Outside In","description":"These original essays exemplify how the transnational history of the United States is being written today. The authors offer fresh work that focuses on the circuits of border-crossing activity that Americans have inhabited, while still taking the nation-state seriously.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52428823855377,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52428824576273,"sku":"NLS9780190459840","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780190459840.jpg?v=1759165299"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-andrew-preston.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}