'This is a terrific book. Professor Whelan explains a formative decade in US-Irish diplomatic relations that has been largely ignored, despite the shattering international events of the 1930s. She gives a brilliant inside look at the personalities and skills of diplomats at work. Highly recommended.' Francis M. Carroll, University of Manitoba 'Whelan provides an outstanding overview of US-Irish ... Read morediplomacy in the 1930s, with an emphasis on how the personal relationships among diplomats, policymakers, and their families influenced the relationship between their respective nations during a perilous era. With the work's focus on the importance of 'soft power' in international affairs providing an effective unifying theme, this is a useful contribution to the field by one of Ireland's foremost diplomatic historians.​' Troy Davis, Stephen F. Austin State University 'This important book highlights the mismatch between Dublin's illusions about independent Ireland's influence within the American foreign policy system, and the actualities of American conduct of international relations in the 1930s. Drawing on prodigious research in American, British and Irish archives, Bernadette Whelan also offers unique insights into the backgrounds, experience and outlook of American officials handling Irish affairs.' Eunan O'Halpin, Trinity College, Dublin 'This book is meticulously researched with over 2,000 references and will be a bible for those seeking relevant information about that decade.' Frank Macgabhann, Irish Examiner 'Prof Whelan has in this book given us much detail and analysis about US-Ireland official contacts in the 1930s, a frequently neglected period. She has also thrown valuable light on the development of the young Irish diplomatic service. In doing so she has enhanced her reputation as the leading historian of the relationship between the US and Irish Governments.' Seán Donlon, Irish Times '… the larger picture that emerges from this detailed and well-researched analysis renders this an important book, which has much to say about the development of US-Irish relations in one of the most important decades of the twentieth century.' David Woolner, H-Net Show Less