Howard Jones has written a definitive history of American foreign relations before 1913. He reminds us once again that U.S. foreign policy did not begin in 1898 as he develops a narrative that is detailed but never boring. Those often forgotten years come alive as he moves from the uncertain nation of 1783 to the powerful one of 1913.

Anna Kasten Nelson, distinguished historian in residence, American University

Historians will welcome Jones's approach, one that evenhandedly addresses but does not belabor historiographical debates, but one that also gives more than just the facts. The survey provides context, analysis of the good and the bad, and a non-compartmentalized look at issues, people, and events. Jones demonstrates that, from Tom Paine to Teddy Roosevelt, Americans were concerned with surviving in a dangerous world by building and exercising power abroad.

Thomas W. Zeiler, author of Ambassadors in Pinstripes: The Spalding World Baseball Tour and the Birth of the American Empire

A readable and comprehensive survey of American foreign policy from the time of independence to the eve of World War I. Jones interweaves traditional security and economic themes with the domestic considerations that drove the decisions of U.S. policymakers. At the same time, he reminds readers about U.S. idealism—the nation's confidence in its own system and society—that contributed to the making of a world's leader.

Thomas M. Leonard

It is a pleasure to see the publication of Howard Jones's history of American foreign relations. The author has drawn from his own impressive contributions to illuminate the often neglected role of diplomacy in the nineteenth century. This well-written and well-balanced book merits the attention of all students of American foreign relations.

Lawrence S. Kaplan, emeritus director, Lyman L. Lemnitzer Center for NATO and European Union Studies