George F. Kennan’s first volume of memoirs is Memoirs 1925-1950. In the second volume of his memoirs, George Kennan resumes the narrative of his remarkable career, re-creating his development as a historian and analyzing the crucial issues of the twentieth century. “I don’t see how a memoir could be better; even if you aren’t interested in the subject at hand, the language carries you along. And the story here told — with all action subject to the finest Kennan introspection — is both important and absorbing... All of it is graced by the Kennan style; all is stamped with the Kennan foreign‐policy trademark [which] consists of an ability to think clearly about complicated matters with an utter independence of mind. He draws on a superb stock of historical knowledge... Most of the conclusions that George Kennan has reached over the years involve, in one way or another, the Soviet Union, and they emerge with admirable clarity from this book... [Kennan is the] most brilliant and civilized of students of the public scene.” — John Kenneth Galbraith, The New York Times “Delightfully written and appallingly frank... Mr. Kennan writes with a freedom and a sensitivity which carry the reader easily into a much deeper understanding of the difficulties of foreign policy-making in a mass democracy of the American model.” — D.C. Watt, New Statesman “[An] engrossing volume... this volume and its predecessor form one of the outstanding memoirs of our time.” — Richard W. Leopold, The American Historical Review “[T]his second volume of his memoirs can be read with as much speed and pleasure as a novel... This book is frank, honest, and introspective, and it therefore reveals a great deal about Kennan as a person... Kennan is obviously a complex, fascinating character — intelligent, proud, articulate, independent-minded, dedicated to serving his country, concerned over the fate of the world, generous in giving of his time to others, and yet suffering the pangs of frustration, loneliness, and alienation from his native land.” — Thomas T. Hammond, The Russian Review “As scholar and diplomatist, policymaker and critic of policy, George F. Kennan possesses a rare combination of expertise and experience... This book is notable for its lucid style and for the verbal portraits which it presents of such persons as Acheson, Dulles, Truman, Eisenhower, Stalin, and Tito... this volume ranks as an important contribution to our understanding of American postwar foreign policy.” — Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr., The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science “[T]here is much here worth any serious student’s time, indeed close attention... Kennan should and will be read” — Kirkus “Kennan writes so well it is no doubt his intention that, though he shows himself plainly as a public figure, as a private person he remains elusive — a sort of Marquand character: gentlemanly, conservative (in the best sense), urbane, direct and honest; yet to any but his friends very private. I’m glad. There are so few celebrated men who refuse to become celebrities.” — Richard J. Walton, The Washington Post

George F. Kennan’s second volume of memoirs is Memoirs 1950-1963. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography and of the National Book Award for History and Biography in 1968, this is the personal and professional record of one of America’s most distinguished diplomats. An intimate and thought-provoking account of diplomatic history, it may be the “single most valuable political book written by an American in the twentieth century.” (The New Republic). “[A] remarkably candid, beautifully written and utterly fascinating intellectual career autobiography of a distinguished diplomat and scholar... This is, in short, major history, and here augmented by selections from the author’s journal and his policy memorandums. It gives an intimate view of how policy, particularly that pertaining to Soviet-American affairs, was fashioned, influenced, criticized and implemented... through it all emerges the portrait of a brilliant man of keen observation, depth of knowledge and strong opinion.” — Eliot Fremont-Smith, The New York Times “[A] historically invaluable, often mercilessly candid ‘intellectual autobiography.’” — Murrey Marder, The Washington Post “These memoirs are expertly written, often fascinating... this is an important book, both as diplomatic history and as intellectual biography... Kennan is perhaps the most impressive figure ever to have emerged from the shadowy labyrinth of the American diplomatic establishment.” — Ronald Steel, The New York Review of Books “From these pages there emerge both the sensitive, introspective, compassionate human being and the sometimes frustrated diplomat. Ranging from his observations of the German occupation of Prague to the genesis of the ‘X’ article in Foreign Affairs and the problems of the postwar world, these vignettes from the author’s diaries are skillfully linked into a consecutive story of lasting historical importance.” — John G. Stoessinger, Foreign Affairs “[A] major contribution to the diplomatic history of our time.” — Dimitri von Mohrenschildt, The Russian Review “This widely acclaimed volume — recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award — can be read as the first installment in the autobiography of an eminent historian; as the intellectual odyssey of a sensitive student of international relations; as an instructive portrait of a professional diplomat, alienated from society and impatient with domestic pressures; as a contribution to the historiography of the cold war; and as a commentary on decision making in recent American foreign policy. It is immensely useful in each area and, like all of Kennan’s works, beautifully written.” — Richard W. Leopold, The American Historical Review “George Kennan’s Memoirs: 1925-1950 may well become a standard by which future American diplomatic autobiographies will be judged — a standard difficult to emulate... [an] immensely interesting book... This biography paints a panorama of unusual personal dimensions.” — Paul Seabury, Slavic Review “Kennan was an enormously healthy and stimulating influence in our diplomatic establishment, and his Memoirs provide a provocative analysis of the intellectual, political, and military thinking that went into the evolution of our attitudes and policies for some twenty-five years.” — Smith Simpson, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science “George Kennan, who already has a substantial reputation as a professional diplomat and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, has now ensured his place in history with this volume of Memoirs.” — Robert A. Divine, The Journal of Southern History “[Kennan’s] lucid, elegant, scrupulous, even finicky account of his career is an excellent way to understand exactly how our foreign policy is shaped and why it ought to be shaped differently. His ambition is to alter the conduct of American foreign policy by influencing the climate of opinion and thereby those who will formulate that policy.” — George P. Elliott, The Hudson Review “[Kennan] focuses on essentials and illuminates them; in so doing his sense of the drama of events merges with the drama of self. His literary style, genuine and full, carries well the weight of complex considerations. His sense of responsibility in public service — for the public good as he sees it — shines out truly and clearly. What a good man, what an attractive man, what an instructive and elevating commentator!” — Herbert Feis, The Virginia Quarterly Review “George Kennan’s lantern illuminates the world; it shines like a beacon in an era of militarist adventure and ‘personalized’ foreign policy.” — Harrison E. Salisbury, Saturday Review

In 1966, the Department of State attempted to strengthen the working level of its geographic bureaus through the establishment of "Country Directors" charged with government-wide leadership and coordination of policy matters concerning individual foreign countries. Through extensive interviews with incumbent Country Directors and members of the foreign affairs community, William I. Bacchus has explored the role of the Country Director, gaining insights into the foreign policy process, and noting obstacles that limit planned modification in large organizations. By focusing on the working level, where day-to-day affairs are conducted, this book amplifies and expands on the findings of a number of recent studies of organizational change and behavior, the foreign policy process, and bureaucratic politics. Originally published in 1974. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

One of a select group of American foreign service officers to receive specialized training on the Soviet Union in the late 1920s and early 1930s, George Frost Kennan eventually became the American government's chief expert on Soviet affairs during the height of the Cold War. Drawing upon a wealth of original research, David Mayers' fascinating life of George Kennan examines his high-level participation in foreign policy-making and interprets his political and philosophical development within a historical framework. Mayers presents an engaging and lucid account of Kennan's training; his rise to prominence during the late 1940s and his policy failures; and his later roles as critic of America's external policy, advocate of détente with the Soviet Union, and proponent of nuclear arms limitation. Mayers also explores Kennan's complicated relationships with such important political figures and analysts as Dean Acheson, John Foster Dulles, and Walter Lippmann.

This book is the first biography ever written of Arthur J. Goldberg, the former labor lawyer, Secretary of Labor under Kennedy, and Supreme Court justice (which post he resigned at the request of Lyndon Johnson to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations), who played a leading role in American political life from World War II until the end of the 1960s. Goldberg, who never wrote memoirs himself, shared his thoughts about his life and work with Stebenne in a series of conversations, which took place occasionally from the fall of 1981 through to Goldberg's death in 1990. He also allowed Stebenne access to his papers, including those held under seal in presidential libraries and at the Library of Congress. Based upon these unique sources and written to be accessible to a wide audience, Arthur J. Goldberg is both the story of a leading American liberal and a history of modern American liberalism.

Grace Kennan Warnecke's memoir is about a life lived on the edge of history. Daughter of one of the most influential diplomats of the twentieth century, wife of the scion of a newspaper dynasty and mother of the youngest owner of a major league baseball team, Grace eventually found her way out from under the shadows of others to forge a dynamic career of her own. Born in Latvia, Grace lived in seven countries and spoke five languages before the age of eleven. As a child, she witnessed Hitler’s march into Prague, attended a Soviet school during World War II, and sailed the seas with her father. In a multi-faceted career, she worked as a professional photographer, television producer, and book editor and critic. Eventually, like her father, she became a Russian specialist, but of a very different kind. She accompanied Ted Kennedy and his family to Russia, escorted Joan Baez to Moscow to meet with dissident Andrei Sakharov, and hosted Josef Stalin’s daughter on the family farm after Svetlana defected to the United States. While running her own consulting company in Russia, she witnessed the breakup of the Soviet Union, and later became director of a women’s economic empowerment project in a newly independent Ukraine. Daughter of the Cold War is a tale of all these adventures and so much more. This compelling and evocative memoir allows readers to follow Grace's amazing path through life – a whirlwind journey of survival, risk, and self-discovery through a kaleidoscope of many countries, historic events, and fascinating people.

Beer and Hariman provide a coherent set of essays that trace and challenge the tradition of realism which has dominated the thinking of academics and practitioners alike. These timely essays set out a systematic investigation of the major realist writers of the Post- War era, the foundational concepts of international politics, and representative case studies of political discourse.

An examination of the cultural aspects of U.S.-Japan relations during the postwar Occupation and the early Cold War

BG (copy 1): From the John Holmes Library collection.