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A review by gregbrown
Tomorrow, the World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy by Stephen Wertheim
3.0
Interesting book on the rise of US expectation of global supremacy—not in the wake of World War II, or even in the wake of Pearl Harbor, but formed during the panic following France's fall to the Nazis.
Suddenly facing the prospect of the British Empire being bombed out of existence, the US reconsidered how much of the world was necessary to guarantee prosperity. The Western Hemisphere started to look rather meager compared to a Nazi-controlled Europe, and they settled on a larger "Grand Area" that covered most of the world outside of Europe and the Soviet Union. And after Germany invaded the USSR and Britain proved more hardy and resilient than expected, their plans expanded even further.
The book itself is fascinating on this turn, including placing a larger emphasis on the fall of France compared to most histories of the US involvement in WWII. With how it's cited today, you'd think Pearl Harbor was the impetus for increased US militarization, but it was actually formed before that in late 1940 and 1941. The book also goes into how, even with all the material basis that you'd think would point to US supremacy, policy elites had to be both talked into it by each other, and convinced that the American public would buy such a scheme. So previous internationalism that didn't involve military projection was renamed to "isolationism" and a new, more muscular internationalism took its place: US power projection, somewhat mediated and morally justified through a United Nations that was run by Great Powers but gave a voice to other nations.
Only downside is the book's based on a dissertation, and it shows: large chapters of original reportage, but not always the best organized and lacking much of a narrative or ideological through line. Not really the first book I'd pick up on the topic, but very interesting if you're really into the period.
(The book itself also contains some pretty small print, the first book I've ever read where it was kind of grating, and hardly necessary when the main text minus footnotes is only 180 pages. Not the author's fault at all and I'm not considering it in the rating. But maybe stick to the kindle version?)
Suddenly facing the prospect of the British Empire being bombed out of existence, the US reconsidered how much of the world was necessary to guarantee prosperity. The Western Hemisphere started to look rather meager compared to a Nazi-controlled Europe, and they settled on a larger "Grand Area" that covered most of the world outside of Europe and the Soviet Union. And after Germany invaded the USSR and Britain proved more hardy and resilient than expected, their plans expanded even further.
The book itself is fascinating on this turn, including placing a larger emphasis on the fall of France compared to most histories of the US involvement in WWII. With how it's cited today, you'd think Pearl Harbor was the impetus for increased US militarization, but it was actually formed before that in late 1940 and 1941. The book also goes into how, even with all the material basis that you'd think would point to US supremacy, policy elites had to be both talked into it by each other, and convinced that the American public would buy such a scheme. So previous internationalism that didn't involve military projection was renamed to "isolationism" and a new, more muscular internationalism took its place: US power projection, somewhat mediated and morally justified through a United Nations that was run by Great Powers but gave a voice to other nations.
Only downside is the book's based on a dissertation, and it shows: large chapters of original reportage, but not always the best organized and lacking much of a narrative or ideological through line. Not really the first book I'd pick up on the topic, but very interesting if you're really into the period.
(The book itself also contains some pretty small print, the first book I've ever read where it was kind of grating, and hardly necessary when the main text minus footnotes is only 180 pages. Not the author's fault at all and I'm not considering it in the rating. But maybe stick to the kindle version?)