America in the world: a history of US diplomacy and foreign policy

Abstract

Since the field has been thoroughly treated, studying US diplomatic history is a challeng ing task itself, a challenge that Robert Zoellick does not hesitate to take on. As a seasoned dip lomat and the former President of the World Bank, Zoellick’s book offers a commanding narrative and detailed history of American diplomacy. If ‘history is the memory of the states’, as wisely stated by Kissinger (1973: 331), this book, with all its controversial assumptions, is a bold attempt to shift the foundations of America’s diplomatic memory.