Overview

With Franklin Roosevelt's death in April of 1945, Vice President Harry Truman and Senator Arthur Vandenberg, the Republican leader on foreign policy, inherited a world in turmoil. With Europe flattened and the Soviets emerging as America's new adversary, Truman and Vandenberg built a tight, bipartisan partnership at a bitterly partisan time to craft a dramatic new foreign policy through which the United States stepped boldly onto the world stage to protect its friends, confront its enemies, and promote freedom. These two men transformed America from a reluctant global giant to a self-confident leader; from a nation that traditionally turned inward after war to one that remained engaged to shape the postwar landscape; and from a nation with no real military establishment to one that now spends more on defense than the next dozen nations combined. Lawrence J. Haas, an award-winning journalist, reveals how, through the close collaboration of Truman and Vandenberg, the United States created the United Nations to replace the League of Nations, pursued the Truman Doctrine to defend freedom from communist threat, launched the Marshall Plan to rescue Western Europe's economy from the devastation of war, and established NATO to defend Western Europe. AUTHOR: Lawrence J. Haas, an award-winning journalist and former senior White House official, is senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, a columnist on foreign affairs, and a TV and radio commentator. He is the author of five other books, including Harry and Arthur: Truman, Vandenberg, and the Partnership That Created the Free World (Potomac Books, 2016), which the Wall Street Journal named one of the top ten nonfiction books of 2016.

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9781640124820

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Reviews

"""Members of Congress--donkeys and elephants alike--take note: Bipartisan cooperation is possible. That is the central message of this well-conceived and well-written book.""--Aaron Leibel, Washington Jewish Week -- (3/16/2016 12:00:00 AM) ""Harry & Arthur serves as a timely reminder of the power of bi-partisanship.""--David Luhrssen, Shepherd Express-- (8/30/2016 12:00:00 AM) ""A well-forged thesis builds a strong argument for the ongoing significance of this foreign policy.""--Kirkus starred review ""A well-written, timely and thoroughly researched book.""--Taylor Dibbert, Huffington Post-- (3/7/2016 12:00:00 AM) ""An important, well-written, well-researched, authoritative, and fascinating look at a crucial four years in American and world history.""--Shoshana Bryen, InFOCUS Quarterly ""Enlightening.""--Kevin Canfield, Kansas City Star-- (4/2/2016 12:00:00 AM) ""Mr. Haas, a former communications director for Vice President Al Gore, writes with an admirable lightness of touch and a command of detail that is enhanced by his insider knowledge of how Congress and the White House operate. This is a first-class story, well told, of professional politicians working in tandem during a world crisis in the best interests of the republic.""--Richard Aldous, Wall Street Journal-- (4/13/2016 12:00:00 AM) ""Nowhere has this remarkable story of American leadership been so well researched and recorded as in Haas's masterpiece, Harry and Arthur. Its special value lies in its timeliness. Not since 1945 have we faced such complex and dangerous threats. Haas frames the question perfectly: can we do it again?""--Robert McFarlane, national security advisor to President Reagan -- (9/14/2015 12:00:00 AM) ""Original and meticulously researched . . . . Informative and highly readable.""--Ruth King, Family Security Matters ""Well researched and engaging. The author's writing style makes it read more like a fast paced novel than a piece of history.""--Casey Wheeler, History Book Reviews-- (2/27/2016 12:00:00 AM)"

This is more than just a vivid and historically rich account of the beginnings of post-World War II bipartisanship in U.S. foreign policy. Haas's tale of the Truman-Vandenberg relationship also reminds us that people matter in policymaking and that trust, character, compromise, and compassion are the only way to keep America united as we face a dangerous world. --Mike McCurry, White House press secretary for President Clinton-- (10/19/2015 12:00:00 AM) Members of Congress--donkeys and elephants alike--take note: Bipartisan cooperation is possible. That is the central message of this well-conceived and well-written book. --Aaron Leibel, Washington Jewish Week -- (3/16/2016 12:00:00 AM) Harry & Arthur serves as a timely reminder of the power of bi-partisanship. --David Luhrssen, Shepherd Express-- (8/30/2016 12:00:00 AM) A well-forged thesis builds a strong argument for the ongoing significance of this foreign policy. --Kirkus starred review A well-written, timely and thoroughly researched book. --Taylor Dibbert, Huffington Post-- (3/7/2016 12:00:00 AM) An important, well-written, well-researched, authoritative, and fascinating look at a crucial four years in American and world history. --Shoshana Bryen, InFOCUS Quarterly As Haas deftly recounts, America led a ruined world toward collective security and liberal democracy through the rare bipartisanship of Truman and Vandenberg. Now, as the internationalist consensus frays, we glance longingly to when politics stopped 'at the water's edge.' --Will Marshall, president of the Progressive Policy Institute -- (9/14/2015 12:00:00 AM) Enlightening. --Kevin Canfield, Kansas City Star-- (4/2/2016 12:00:00 AM) In his very engaging Harry and Arthur, Larry Haas provides a timely reminder that America can address big challenges when Democratic and Republican leaders put national interest before partisanship and personality. --Herman Pirchner Jr., president of the American Foreign Policy Council-- (9/14/2015 12:00:00 AM) Mr. Haas, a former communications director for Vice President Al Gore, writes with an admirable lightness of touch and a command of detail that is enhanced by his insider knowledge of how Congress and the White House operate. This is a first-class story, well told, of professional politicians working in tandem during a world crisis in the best interests of the republic. --Richard Aldous, Wall Street Journal-- (4/13/2016 12:00:00 AM) Nowhere has this remarkable story of American leadership been so well researched and recorded as in Haas's masterpiece, Harry and Arthur. Its special value lies in its timeliness. Not since 1945 have we faced such complex and dangerous threats. Haas frames the question perfectly: can we do it again? --Robert McFarlane, national security advisor to President Reagan -- (9/14/2015 12:00:00 AM) Original and meticulously researched . . . . Informative and highly readable. --Ruth King, Family Security Matters Well researched and engaging. The author's writing style makes it read more like a fast paced novel than a piece of history. --Casey Wheeler, History Book Reviews-- (2/27/2016 12:00:00 AM)

Author Information

Lawrence J. Haas is a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council and former communications director for Vice President Al Gore. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, and many other outlets. He has published five other books, including The Kennedys in the World: How Jack, Bobby, and Ted Remade America’s Empire (Potomac, 2021).

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