History and Strategy

by Marc Trachtenberg

This work is a powerful demonstration of how historical analysis can be brought to bear on the study of strategic issues, and, conversely, how strategic thinking can help drive historical research. Based largely on newly released American archives, History and Strategy focuses on the twenty years following World War II. By bridging the sizable gap between the intellectual world of historians and that of strategists and political scientists, the essays here present a fresh and unified view of how to explore international politics in the nuclear era. The book begins with an overview of strategic thought in America from 1952 through 1966 and ends with a discussion of "making sense" of the nuclear age. Trachtenberg reevaluates the immediate causes of World War I, studies the impact of the shifting nuclear balance on American strategy in the early 1950s, examines the relationship between the nuclearization of NATO and U.S.-West European relations, and looks at the Berlin and the Cuban crises. He shows throughout that there are startling discoveries to be made about events that seem to have been thoroughly investigated.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published April 1, 1991

About the author

Marc Trachtenberg is currently a Political Science professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Roy McCullough · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing and insightful work examining, among other things, the value of Applied History. This is one that will stay on my shelves for a long time as I suspect I shall be wanting to give it another read or two at some point down the road.

[Billy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book. It's divided up into short, easily digestible chapters, which is a must when you are detailing the formation of nascent nuclear strategy. Trachtenberg shows how the earliest nuclear strategists were not historically minded scholars or military men, but instead economic theoriests who were heavily influenced by Game Theory. Today, these are common facts, but before History & Strategy, thinkers like Bernard Brodie were not getting the due they deserve. While primarily focused on nuclear strategy, this book also examines more particular instances of strategy in history, including the days leading up to WWI and the Berlin Crisis.

[Chelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very forthright setup of a traditional history article. Helpful for seeing how to construct the argument of a historian