In its 5th edition, this volume offers a clear and nuanced history of U.S. foreign relations since the Spanish-American War and places that narrative within the context of the most influential historiographical trends and debates.

1. The Spanish-American War and the Decision for Empire 2. The Surge into Asia: Empire in the Philippines and the Open Door in China 3. The Surge into Latin America: Varieties of American Empire 4. Europe, America, and World War I 5. The United States and the Peace of Versailles 6. U.S. Foreign Policy between the World Wars 7. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Road to World War II 8. The Diplomacy of World War II and the Seeds of the Cold War 9. Harry Truman and the Onset of the Cold War 10. Crisis and Confrontation during the 1950s 11. John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and the Strategy of Flexible Response 12. War in Vietnam 13. Manipulating the Balance of Power 14. Time Bombs in the Middle East 15. Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and the Demise of Détente, 1976-1984 16. The End of the Cold War 17. The Aftermath of the Cold War: American Foreign Policy during the 1990s 18. 9/11 and the War on Terror 19. The Challenges of Global Leadership