What to read after Crucible of Power?

Crucible of Power: A History of American Foreign Relations to 1913 presents a straightforward, balanced, and comprehensive history of American international relations from the American Revolution to 1913. This core text demonstrates the complexities of the decision-making process that led to the rise and decline of the United States (relative to the ascent of other nations) in world power status. Howard Jones focuses on the personalities, security interests, and expansionist tendencies behind the formulation and implementation of U.S. foreign policy and highlights the intimate relationship between foreign and domestic policy. Students will gain an understanding of the historical antecedents of the nation's twentieth-century foreign policy. This volume relies on the natural chronology of historical events to organize and narrate the story as the nation's leaders saw it. Jones uncovers the tangled and often confusing nature of foreign affairs by taking the narrative approach and does not create the illusion that American foreign relations took place in a well-ordered fashion. This book will help students understand the plight of present-day policymakers who encounter an array of problems that are rarely susceptible to simple analysis and ready solution. Two-color format is used to make the text more visually appealing and easier to read. Maps provide easy reference and important context, and photographs make the book more visually exciting. Each chapter ends with a list of suggested readings, giving students additional resources for exploration and research. This text is ideal for American diplomatic history survey courses and courses on American foreign policy from the American Revolution to the present.