The Tragedy of American Diplomacy
by William Appleman Williams
This is an Online Internet Book Club on The Tragedy of American Diplomacy by William Appleman Williams. Discuss this book, share your thoughts, make comments, ask questions, offer responses...
Description
“A brilliant book on foreign affairs.”—Adolf A. Berle Jr., New York Times Book Review This incisive interpretation of American foreign policy ranks as a classic in American thought. First published in 1959, the book offered an analysis of the wellsprings of American foreign policy that shed light on the tensions of the Cold War and the deeper impulses leading to the American intervention in Vietnam. William Appleman Williams brilliantly explores the ways in which ideology and political economy intertwined over time to propel American expansion and empire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The powerful relevance of Williams’s interpretation to world politics has only been strengthened by recent events in Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. Williams allows us to see that the interests and beliefs that once sent American troops into Texas and California, or Latin America and East Asia, also propelled American forces into Iraq.
Book Club Questions for The Tragedy of American Diplomacy (Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for The Tragedy of American Diplomacy (Fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on The Tragedy of American Diplomacy:
- Did William Appleman Williams emphasize any specific themes throughout The Tragedy of American Diplomacy? What do you think William Appleman Williams is trying to explain with this theme?
- What was unique about the setting of The Tragedy of American Diplomacy and how did it affect the storyline?
- Could you relate to any of the characters? If so, which ones and why?
- How do characters change or learn throughout The Tragedy of American Diplomacy? What events caused these changes? Have you or someone you know experienced the same thing?
- How does The Tragedy of American Diplomacy reveal William Appleman Williams's own perspectives about people and the world? For a lively discussion, describe why you think William Appleman Williams is liberal or conservative.
- Did certain parts of The Tragedy of American Diplomacy affect you emotionally? Why did it evoke those emotions?
- Did William Appleman Williams's point of view on things lend new perspective to your own view of the world?
Book Club Questions for The Tragedy of American Diplomacy (for Non-Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for The Tragedy of American Diplomacy (Non-fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on The Tragedy of American Diplomacy:
- Did William Appleman Williams make persuasive arguments in The Tragedy of American Diplomacy? Did The Tragedy of American Diplomacy change or reinforce your opinion on the subject?
- What did you learn from The Tragedy of American Diplomacy?
- How does William Appleman Williams present the information and did you enjoy it?
- How is William Appleman Williams biased within The Tragedy of American Diplomacy? Is there a political slant to what is being discussed and how does it impact the book?
- What, if anything, does The Tragedy of American Diplomacy make you want to read next? Why?
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