"This compact volume efficiently debunks the myth of American isolationism while demonstrating that it was Franklin D. Roosevelt, not his successors, who first persuaded the nation to take on a truly global role. With its succinct narrative of the key events and policy decisions of the inter-war period and its useful selection of documents, this book is an ideal choice ... Read morefor college courses on U.S. foreign relations."—Max Paul Friedman, professor of history at American University and author of Nazis and Good Neighbors: The United States Campaign Against the Germans of Latin American in World War II “David Schmitz provides an elegant and comprehensive overview of the enormous challenges facing the Roosevelt administration during the turbulent years prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Schmitz’s writing is fluid and engaging, and his selection of documents complements the narrative beautifully. This is an excellent book for understanding the complicated domestic and international contexts Roosevelt faced. Schmitz has put together a concise and illuminating work that is accessible to all readers interested in American diplomacy.”—T. Christopher Jespersen, dean of the School of Arts and Letters, North Georgia College & State University, and author of American Images of China, 1931–1949 Show Less