Overview

George F. Kennan is well known as the preeminent American expert on the Soviet Union during the Cold War and the author of the doctrine of containment. In Mr. X and the Pacific, Paul J. Heer chronicles and assesses Kennan's work in affecting US policy toward East Asia. Heer traces the origins, development, and bearing of Kennan's strategic perspective on the Far East during his time as director of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff from 1947 to 1950. The author follows Kennan's career and evolution of his thinking as he subsequently became a prominent critic of American participation in the Vietnam War. Mr. X and the Pacific offers readers a new view of Kennan, revealing his importance and the totality of his role in East Asia policy, his struggle with American foreign policy in the region, and the ways in which Kennan's legacy still has implications for how the United States approaches the region in the twenty-first century.

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9781501770319

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Reviews

Meticulously researched and well-crafted.... Paul Heer's insightful look into George Kennan's views of the region during the early years of the Cold War can help us better understand and cope with the geopolitical challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. * Asian Review of Books * Heer's work is clearly written, widely researched, fair and balanced in its assessments, and a valuable contribution to our understanding of the influence of, and contradictory ideas sometimes held by, one of the most important foreign policymakers in the twentieth century. The organization by theme or nation works well due both to the nature of the material and to Heer's brief yet clear reminders of how one topic fits into another when appropriate. Also, although begun in the 1990s, as Heer explains in his opening, the work is quite timely. In the current international environment, a study that examines warnings against miscalculating America's interests, if not also capabilities, in East Asia is a welcome reminder that such miscalculations can often have serious and lasting ramifications for both the United States and the people in the region. * H-Diplo * There are insightful references to Kennan's hopes for reconciliation with Japan and China and much detail on Kennan's frustrations with US strategy changes in the Pacific and with Dean Acheson's replacing George Marshall as secretary of state. * Choice * [W]hat Heer has done in Mr. X and the Pacific is a success. His sober narrative proves worthy of his subject's powerful intellect in its careful analysis of the nuances of the historical record. * Journal of American-East Asian Relations * There has been no monograph focusing solely on Kennan's role in formulating U.S. Cold War policy in Asia, until Paul Heer's Mr. X and the Pacific. Heer's study meticulously traces Kennan's views of Asian countries and evaluates positive and negative legacies of Kennan's policy recommendations on the region. * Pacific Historical Review * Although known primarily as a Sovietologist, Kennan played a vital role in early Cold War US policy in East Asia, primarily with respect to the Chinese civil war and US policy in occupied Japan. Those several years are the primary focus of intelligence analyst-cum-scholar Paul Heer's meticulous and well-balanced critical study of Kennan's involvement in US East Asia policy. * PACIFIC AFFAIRS * Mr. X and the Pacific sheds light on how containment applied to East Asia... For those who are interested in US grand strategy in East Asia, especially in the era of the Cold War, this book is a must read. * H-Net H-War *

Meticulously researched and well-crafted.... Paul Heer’s insightful look into George Kennan’s views of the region during the early years of the Cold War can help us better understand and cope with the geopolitical challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. * Asian Review of Books * Heer's work is clearly written, widely researched, fair and balanced in its assessments, and a valuable contribution to our understanding of the influence of, and contradictory ideas sometimes held by, one of the most important foreign policymakers in the twentieth century. The organization by theme or nation works well due both to the nature of the material and to Heer's brief yet clear reminders of how one topic fits into another when appropriate. Also, although begun in the 1990s, as Heer explains in his opening, the work is quite timely. In the current international environment, a study that examines warnings against miscalculating America's interests, if not also capabilities, in East Asia is a welcome reminder that such miscalculations can often have serious and lasting ramifications for both the United States and the people in the region. * H-Diplo * There are insightful references to Kennan's hopes for reconciliation with Japan and China and much detail on Kennan's frustrations with US strategy changes in the Pacific and with Dean Acheson's replacing George Marshall as secretary of state. * Choice * [W]hat Heer has done in Mr. X and the Pacific is a success. His sober narrative proves worthy of his subject's powerful intellect in its careful analysis of the nuances of the historical record. * Journal of American-East Asian Relations * There has been no monograph focusing solely on Kennan's role in formulating U.S. Cold War policy in Asia, until Paul Heer's Mr. X and the Pacific. Heer's study meticulously traces Kennan's views of Asian countries and evaluates positive and negative legacies of Kennan's policy recommendations on the region. * Pacific Historical Review * Although known primarily as a Sovietologist, Kennan played a vital role in early Cold War US policy in East Asia, primarily with respect to the Chinese civil war and US policy in occupied Japan. Those several years are the primary focus of intelligence analyst-cum-scholar Paul Heer's meticulous and well-balanced critical study of Kennan's involvement in US East Asia policy. * PACIFIC AFFAIRS * Mr. X and the Pacific sheds light on how containment applied to East Asia... For those who are interested in US grand strategy in East Asia, especially in the era of the Cold War, this book is a must read. * H-War *

There has been no monograph focusing solely on Kennan's role in formulating U.S. Cold War policy in Asia, until Paul Heer's Mr. X and the Pacific. Heer's study meticulously traces Kennan's views of Asian countries and evaluates positive and negative legacies of Kennan's policy recommendations on the region. -- Pacific Historical Review Although known primarily as a Sovietologist, Kennan played a vital role in early Cold War US policy in East Asia, primarily with respect to the Chinese civil war and US policy in occupied Japan. Those several years are the primary focus of intelligence analyst-cum-scholar Paul Heer's meticulous and well-balanced critical study of Kennan's involvement in US East Asia policy. -- PACIFIC AFFAIRS Heer's work is clearly written, widely researched, fair and balanced in its assessments, and a valuable contribution to our understanding of the influence of, and contradictory ideas sometimes held by, one of the most important foreign policymakers in the twentieth century. The organization by theme or nation works well due both to the nature of the material and to Heer's brief yet clear reminders of how one topic fits into another when appropriate. Also, although begun in the 1990s, as Heer explains in his opening, the work is quite timely. In the current international environment, a study that examines warnings against miscalculating America's interests, if not also capabilities, in East Asia is a welcome reminder that such miscalculations can often have serious and lasting ramifications for both the United States and the people in the region. -- H-Diplo Meticulously researched and well-crafted.... Paul Heer's insightful look into George Kennan's views of the region during the early years of the Cold War can help us better understand and cope with the geopolitical challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. -- Asian Review of Books There are insightful references to Kennan's hopes for reconciliation with Japan and China and much detail on Kennan's frustrations with US strategy changes in the Pacific and with Dean Acheson's replacing George Marshall as secretary of state. -- Choice Mr. X and the Pacific sheds light on how containment applied to East Asia... For those who are interested in US grand strategy in East Asia, especially in the era of the Cold War, this book is a must read. -- H-Net H-War [W]hat Heer has done in Mr. X and the Pacific is a success. His sober narrative proves worthy of his subject's powerful intellect in its careful analysis of the nuances of the historical record. -- Journal of American-East Asian Relations

Author Information

Paul J. Heer is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He is a veteran analyst of East Asia and spent three decades within the US intelligence community.

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