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W. Averell Harriman, James V. Forrestal, and John J. McCloy belonged to the first generation of cold warriors whose key leaders are sometimes called the "wise men." What did these three wise men have in common, and do they deserve such a laudatory appellation? The books under review provide some answers to these questions, though not always the answers intended by their authors. They also suggest some tentative conclusions about the state of diplomatic history now that the Cold War is over, and specifically whether the end of that epic conflict will open the field to new insights and explorations. Harriman, Forrestal, and McCloy were born in the 1890s. They grew up at a time when the United States was fighting its first battles for overseas empire, opening the door to China, developing the strategies of gunboat and dollar diplomacy, and preparing for global war in the name of democracy. The authors do not dwell on the point, but it seems logical to assume that these early events influenced the way Harriman, Forrestal, and McCloy viewed the world after 1945. Kai Bird, for example, notes that young Jack McCloy joined the Plattsburg movement in 1915 and 1916 and began to develop at that point what would later become the national security ideology of the Cold War, with its emphasis on internationalism, collective security, and military preparedness. Although Harriman, Forrestal, and McCloy were among the wealthiest |
