erikars's review against another edition
Those of you who know me, know that I am not much of a history person, and this book contains some quite heavy history (~740 pages of it). Despite my general aversion to history, I found the book quite interesting. This was aided, in part, by the engaging material. It was further aided by Acheson's writing style. The book was peppered with amusing anecdotes that made historical figures seem like real live people (wax earplugs are not to be eaten). The book was also very well organized. My favorite touch was that the year in which the action on a page takes place was printed on the inner section of the header of that page. Very nice.
skitch41's review against another edition
5.0
I was thrilled to receive this book from the collection of one of my favorite history professors who was retiring at the time he gave it to me. Now, having finished reading this incredible memoir, I now realize what a wonderful gift this was to receive at all. Mr. Acheson's recollection of his years in the State Department from 1941 to 1953 is incredibly concise, but hardly ever boring. There are a few key aspects of this book that make it so wonderful to read: first, since Mr. Acheson chose to focus on his years in the State Department rather than on a general autobiography, there is more room to focus on all aspects of the diplomacy he dealt with during this period. In fact, if had added personal details about his life, it would have defeated the whole purpose of the book. The second key is his focus on personal diplomacy. In a book devoted solely to U.S. foreign policy, it can be very easy to get bogged down in minutiae. But by focusing on the personal diplomacy he conducted with his counterparts and other governmental figures (foreign and domestic) around the world, the reader gets a truer picture of how diplomacy is conducted than any other book on foreign policy that I have read. Plus, you have the added bonus of Mr. Acheson's short vignettes of important public figures provides a key source of information on the important movers at the beginning of the Cold War. And finally, nearly every topic is covered meticulously, leaving a key record for Cold War historians to pore over in the future. I will say that the first 100 or so pages, when Mr. Acheson was Assistant Secretary of State during World War II, is a little dull as it appears that Mr. Acheson's duties only dealt with economic diplomacy, a relatively dull subject even in war. But once he becomes Congressional liaison, then Under Secretary, and finally Secretary of State, then it becomes hard to put down. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in Cold War diplomacy.
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