Overview

George F. Kennan is well known for articulating the strategic concept of containment, which would be the centerpiece of what became the Truman Doctrine. During his influential Cold War career he was the preeminent American expert on the Soviet Union. In Mr. X and the Pacific, Paul J. Heer explores Kennan's equally important impact on East Asia. Heer chronicles and assesses Kennan's work in affecting U.S. policy toward East Asia. By tracing the origins, development, and bearing of Kennan's strategic perspective on the Far East during and after his time as director of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff from 1947 to 1950, Heer shows how Kennan moved from being an ardent and hawkish Cold Warrior to, by the 1960s, a prominent critic of American participation in the Vietnam War. Mr. X and the Pacific provides close examinations of Kennan's engagement with China (both the People's Republic and Taiwan), Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Country-by-country analysis paired with considerations of the ebb and flow of Kennan's global strategic thinking result in a significant extension of our estimation of Kennan's influence and a deepening of our understanding of this key figure in the early years of the Cold War. In Mr. X and the Pacific Heer 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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9781501711145

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Until Mr. X and the Pacific, no historian has adequately examined Kennan's beliefs and strategies about East Asia. Paul Heer has impressively addressed that need by tracing Kennan's sometimes iconoclastic and always well-argued ideas about this vital region. This is a necessary book for readers interested in the Cold War in Asia as well as Kennan's interests beyond the Soviet Union. --Frank Costigliola, editor of The Kennan Diaries This fascinating book by Paul Heer is a must-read for anyone interested in American foreign policy. In Mr. X and the Pacific, Heer provides invaluable insights into the thought processes of George Kennan, one of America's most renowned strategic thinkers. --J. Stapleton Roy, former U.S. Ambassador to China Paul Heer has made an important contribution to Kennan-ology and the study of American statecraft in the early Cold War. As the United States approaches present-day problems of Asia-Pacific security, U.S. officials would benefit from reading Mr. X and the Pacific for an insightful take on the origins of America's postwar primacy in the region. --Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and author of Making the Unipolar Moment

Until Mr. X and the Pacific, no historian has adequately examined Kennan's beliefs and strategies about East Asia. Paul J. Heer has impressively addressed that need by tracing Kennan's sometimes iconoclastic and always well-argued ideas about this vital region. This is a necessary book for readers interested in the Cold War in Asia as well as Kennan's interests beyond the Soviet Union. --Frank Costigliola, editor of The Kennan Diaries This fascinating book by Paul J. Heer is a must-read for anyone interested in American foreign policy. In Mr. X and the Pacific, Heer provides invaluable insights into the thought processes of George Kennan, one of America's most renowned strategic thinkers. --J. Stapleton Roy, former U.S. Ambassador to China Paul J. Heer has made an important contribution to Kennan-ology and the study of American statecraft in the early Cold War. As the United States approaches present-day problems of Asia-Pacific security, U.S. officials would benefit from reading Mr. X and the Pacific for an insightful take on the origins of America's postwar primacy in the region. --Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and author of Making the Unipolar Moment This fascinating book by Paul Heer is a must-read for anyone interested in American foreign policy. In Mr. X and the Pacific, Heer provides invaluable insights into the thought processes of George Kennan, one of America's most renowned strategic thinkers. --J. Stapleton Roy, former U.S. Ambassador to China Paul Heer has made an important contribution to Kennan-ology and the study of American statecraft in the early Cold War. As the United States approaches present-day problems of Asia-Pacific security, U.S. officials would benefit from reading Mr. X and the Pacific for an insightful take on the origins of America's postwar primacy in the region. --Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and author of Making the Unipolar Moment

Until Mr. X and the Pacific, no historian has adequately examined Kennan's beliefs and strategies about East Asia. Paul J. Heer has impressively addressed that need by tracing Kennan's sometimes iconoclastic and always well-argued ideas about this vital region. This is a necessary book for readers interested in the Cold War in Asia as well as Kennan's interests beyond the Soviet Union. -- Frank Costigliola, editor of <I>The Kennan Diaries</I> This fascinating book by Paul J. Heer is a must-read for anyone interested in American foreign policy. In Mr. X and the Pacific, Heer provides invaluable insights into the thought processes of George Kennan, one of America's most renowned strategic thinkers. -- J. Stapleton Roy, former U.S. Ambassador to China Paul J. Heer has made an important contribution to Kennan-ology and the study of American statecraft in the early Cold War. As the United States approaches present-day problems of Asia-Pacific security, U.S. officials would benefit from reading Mr. X and the Pacific for an insightful take on the origins of America's postwar primacy in the region. -- Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and author of <I>Making the Unipolar Moment</I> 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 *

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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