No Exit

This new account of early Cold War history focuses on the emergence of a bipolar structure of power, the continuing importance of the German question, and American efforts to create a united Western Europe.

James McAllister is Professor of Political Science at Williams College.

This is a lively and well-written account of what is too often a deadly dull topic that appeals only to masochistic cognoscenti. Because it asks questions that diplomatic historians ought to be asking, it is much to be welcomed.

McAllister sets out to prove that the U.S. wanted to shape a post-WWII European power structure that could maintain peace without US military forces.... He argues repeatedly that the U.S. had no desire for an empire; Americans simply wanted to go home. But the telling point comes when the author suggests that the U.S. had an 'Empire by Default.'.

James McAllister's book examines why..., despite every original intention, the United States never found a suitable exit strategy from the military commitment to Western Europe.... It tackles an important question with persuasive reasoning and with a useful narrative informed by solid archival research.

Warren F. Kimball, Rutgers University:

McAllister has made a conscious and effective effort to bridge the unnecessarily wide gulf between international relations theory and evidence-driven history to test political science theory.