Overview

From the acclaimed economist-historian and author of The Marshall Plan comes a dramatic and powerful new perspective on the political career of Henry Wallace--a perspective that will forever change how we view the making of US and Soviet foreign policy at the dawn of the Cold War. Henry Wallace is the most important, and certainly the most fascinating, almost-president in American history. As FDR's third-term vice president, and a hero to many progressives, he lost his place on the 1944 Democratic ticket in a wild open convention, as a result of which Harry Truman became president on FDR's death. Books, films, and even plays have since portrayed the circumstances surrounding Wallace's defeat as corrupt, and the results catastrophic. Filmmaker Oliver Stone, among others, has claimed that Wallace's loss ushered in four decades of devastating and unnecessary Cold War. Now, based on striking new finds from Russian, FBI, and other archives, Benn Steil's The World That Wasn't paints a decidedly less heroic portrait of the man, of the events surrounding his fall, and of the world that might have been under his presidency. Though a brilliant geneticist, Henry Wallace was a self-obsessed political figure, blind to the manipulations of aides--many of whom were Soviet agents and assets. From 1933 to 1949, Wallace undertook a series of remarkable interventions abroad, each aimed at remaking the world order according to his evolving spiritual blueprint. As agriculture secretary, he fell under the spell of Russian mystics, and used the cover of a plant-gathering mission to aid their doomed effort to forge a new theocratic state in Central Asia. As vice president, he toured a Potemkin Siberian continent, guided by undercover Soviet security and intelligence officials who hid labor camps and concealed prisoners. He then wrote a book, together with an American NKGB journalist source, hailing the region's renaissance under Bolshevik leadership. In China, the Soviets uncovered his private efforts to coax concessions to Moscow from Chiang Kai-shek, fueling their ambitions to dominate Manchuria. Running for president in 1948, he colluded with Stalin to undermine his government's foreign policy, allowing the dictator to edit his most important election speech. It was not until 1950 that he began to acknowledge his misapprehensions regarding the Kremlin's aims and conduct. Meticulously researched and deftly written, The World That Wasn't is a spellbinding work of political biography and narrative history that will upend how we see the making of the early Cold War.

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9781982127824

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Reviews

"""A brilliant and fascinating story of a charismatic and well-meaning leader undone by Soviet propaganda. The nation was lucky to have Harry Truman in position as VP when FDR died--but it was a near run thing. Exceptional history, engrossing story telling."" --Admiral James Stavridis ""This book is BEYOND BELIEF. Highly recommended 10/10."" --Marc Andreessen ""Benn Steil's new book, The World That Wasn't, demonstrates that Wallace would not have saved the United States from a rivalry with the Soviet Union. . . . But Steil highlights a larger lesson: It takes two to make peace. Through diplomacy, states can resolve conflicts, but if one actor will not relent, the options are appeasement or confrontation, not real peace."" --Washington Examiner ""Timely, riveting . . . Historian Benn Steil's new biography should be read right now."" --George F. Will, The Washington Post ""A groundbreaking biography . . . Benn Steil comes closer than anyone before him to unraveling the enigma of this visionary hybrid of feeling and fact."" --Richard Norton Smith, Washington Free Beacon ""A rigorously researched and revelatory new Wallace biography."" --New York Journal of Books ""American history--and world history--could have turned out very differently if just a few things had gone the other way. Most notably, the U.S. after World War II might have pursued a pro-Soviet foreign policy, consigning Europe to Communist control, if President Franklin Roosevelt had died in the middle of his third term or if the 1944 Democratic National Convention had not dumped Vice President Henry Wallace for Harry Truman. How this counterfactual history came close to happening, and how it was prevented, is the subject of Benn Steil's definitive account, The World That Wasn't."" --Wall Street Journal ""Steil deftly sorts through [the layers of legend] to distinguish truth from fiction. . . . A welcome reconsideration of a much-misunderstood but important figure in American politics."" --Kirkus Reviews ""A meticulous biography of Henry Wallace . . . Drawing on new materials from FBI and Soviet Union archives, Steil paints a vivid picture. . . . This is a rewarding dive into the inner workings of mid-century American government."" --Publishers Weekly ""One of the strangest characteristics of Cold War historiography is the frequency with which Henry Wallace and hagiography have accompanied one another. 'If only Wallace, and not Truman, had succeeded FDR, ' the argument runs, 'the Cold War would never have happened.' No Wallace biographer, until now, has made a serious effort to assess that claim, not only on the basis of the Wallace papers but also documents from 'the other side' that the end of the Cold War made available. With The World That Wasn't, Benn Steil has risen triumphantly to that challenge: his book is equally important for what it tells us about our past, and for what it may imply about our future."" --John Lewis Gaddis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of George F. Kennan: An American Life"

"""Benn Steil's new book, The World That Wasn't, demonstrates that Wallace would not have saved the United States from a rivalry with the Soviet Union. . . . But Steil highlights a larger lesson: It takes two to make peace. Through diplomacy, states can resolve conflicts, but if one actor will not relent, the options are appeasement or confrontation, not real peace."" --Washington Examiner ""Timely, riveting . . . Historian Benn Steil's new biography should be read right now."" --George F. Will, The Washington Post ""A groundbreaking biography . . . Benn Steil comes closer than anyone before him to unraveling the enigma of this visionary hybrid of feeling and fact."" --Richard Norton Smith, Washington Free Beacon ""A rigorously researched and revelatory new Wallace biography."" --New York Journal of Books ""American history--and world history--could have turned out very differently if just a few things had gone the other way. Most notably, the U.S. after World War II might have pursued a pro-Soviet foreign policy, consigning Europe to Communist control, if President Franklin Roosevelt had died in the middle of his third term or if the 1944 Democratic National Convention had not dumped Vice President Henry Wallace for Harry Truman. How this counterfactual history came close to happening, and how it was prevented, is the subject of Benn Steil's definitive account, The World That Wasn't."" --Wall Street Journal ""Steil deftly sorts through [the layers of legend] to distinguish truth from fiction. . . . A welcome reconsideration of a much-misunderstood but important figure in American politics."" --Kirkus Reviews ""A meticulous biography of Henry Wallace . . . Drawing on new materials from FBI and Soviet Union archives, Steil paints a vivid picture. . . . This is a rewarding dive into the inner workings of mid-century American government."" --Publishers Weekly ""No-one could be better qualified to write this definitive life of Henry Wallace than Benn Steil, who is steeped in the period and a very considerable scholar. Steil has done a tremendous job stripping away the myths surrounding the New Deal, the Soviet Union, and The Century of the Common Man. Uncovering much brand new evidence, he presents Wallace in a startling new light, and with it the history of America at a crucial moment in world affairs."" --Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny ""One of the strangest characteristics of Cold War historiography is the frequency with which Henry Wallace and hagiography have accompanied one another. 'If only Wallace, and not Truman, had succeeded FDR, ' the argument runs, 'the Cold War would never have happened.' No Wallace biographer, until now, has made a serious effort to assess that claim, not only on the basis of the Wallace papers but also documents from 'the other side' that the end of the Cold War made available. With The World That Wasn't, Benn Steil has risen triumphantly to that challenge: his book is equally important for what it tells us about our past, and for what it may imply about our future."" --John Lewis Gaddis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of George F. Kennan: An American Life PRAISE FOR THE MARSHALL PLAN: Winner of the 2019 New-York Historical Society Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize in American History Winner of the 2018 American Academy of Diplomacy Douglas Dillon Award Shortlisted for the 2018 Duff Cooper Prize in Literary Nonfiction Honorable Mention (runner-up) for the 2019 ASEEES Marshall D. Shulman Prize ""Trenchant and timely . . . builds intellectual excitement . . . Steil has written an ambitious, deeply researched narrative that not only delineates the interlocking gears of international politics and economics in early post-war Europe but also introduces a large cast of statesmen, spies and economists that perhaps only Dickens could have corralled with ease."" --The New York Times Book Review"

"""Benn Steil's engrossing account of Wallace's life and career is a timely cautionary tale and a masterpiece of 20th-century American history. It is the definitive biography of Henry A. Wallace, and all the previous hagiographies can finally be consigned to the irrelevance they so richly deserve."" --Ronald Radosh, Quillette ""A brilliant and fascinating story of a charismatic and well-meaning leader undone by Soviet propaganda. The nation was lucky to have Harry Truman in position as VP when FDR died--but it was a near run thing. Exceptional history, engrossing story telling."" --Admiral James Stavridis ""Benn Steil's new book, The World That Wasn't, demonstrates that Wallace would not have saved the United States from a rivalry with the Soviet Union. . . . But Steil highlights a larger lesson: It takes two to make peace. Through diplomacy, states can resolve conflicts, but if one actor will not relent, the options are appeasement or confrontation, not real peace."" --Washington Examiner ""Timely, riveting . . . Historian Benn Steil's new biography should be read right now."" --George F. Will, The Washington Post ""A groundbreaking biography . . . Benn Steil comes closer than anyone before him to unraveling the enigma of this visionary hybrid of feeling and fact."" --Richard Norton Smith, Washington Free Beacon ""A rigorously researched and revelatory new Wallace biography."" --New York Journal of Books ""American history--and world history--could have turned out very differently if just a few things had gone the other way. Most notably, the U.S. after World War II might have pursued a pro-Soviet foreign policy, consigning Europe to Communist control, if President Franklin Roosevelt had died in the middle of his third term or if the 1944 Democratic National Convention had not dumped Vice President Henry Wallace for Harry Truman. How this counterfactual history came close to happening, and how it was prevented, is the subject of Benn Steil's definitive account, The World That Wasn't."" --Wall Street Journal ""Steil deftly sorts through [the layers of legend] to distinguish truth from fiction. . . . A welcome reconsideration of a much-misunderstood but important figure in American politics."" --Kirkus Reviews ""A meticulous biography of Henry Wallace . . . Drawing on new materials from FBI and Soviet Union archives, Steil paints a vivid picture. . . . This is a rewarding dive into the inner workings of mid-century American government."" --Publishers Weekly ""One of the strangest characteristics of Cold War historiography is the frequency with which Henry Wallace and hagiography have accompanied one another. 'If only Wallace, and not Truman, had succeeded FDR, ' the argument runs, 'the Cold War would never have happened.' No Wallace biographer, until now, has made a serious effort to assess that claim, not only on the basis of the Wallace papers but also documents from 'the other side' that the end of the Cold War made available. With The World That Wasn't, Benn Steil has risen triumphantly to that challenge: his book is equally important for what it tells us about our past, and for what it may imply about our future."" --John Lewis Gaddis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of George F. Kennan: An American Life"

"PRAISE FOR THE MARSHALL PLAN: Winner of the 2019 New-York Historical Society Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize in American History Winner of the 2018 American Academy of Diplomacy Douglas Dillon Award Shortlisted for the 2018 Duff Cooper Prize in Literary Nonfiction Honorable Mention (runner-up) for the 2019 ASEEES Marshall D. Shulman Prize ""Trenchant and timely . . . builds intellectual excitement . . . Steil has written an ambitious, deeply researched narrative that not only delineates the interlocking gears of international politics and economics in early post-war Europe but also introduces a large cast of statesmen, spies and economists that perhaps only Dickens could have corralled with ease."" --The New York Times Book Review ""The Marshall Plan is elegant in style and impressive in insights. Steil has an enviable gift for presenting complex economic and geopolitical issues in crisp, readable prose."" --Tony Barber, Financial Times ""[A] brilliant book . . . The story of the Marshall Plan has been recounted many times before, including by those who were its architects and thus, like Dean Acheson, ""Present at the Creation."" But Mr. Steil's is by far the best study yet, because it is so wise and so balanced in its judgments. . . . The maturity and surety of Mr. Steil's book is nowhere more in evidence than in his final chapter."" --Paul Kennedy, The Wall Street Journal ""[A] refreshingly heterodox new history."" --London Review of Books ""[B]ig, serious, and thoroughly intelligent . . . Steil embeds [the Marshall Plan] in a sharp and critical political history of the first years of the Cold War itself. In his final chapters, he looks far beyond the period of the Marshall Plan and discusses parallels and contrasts with the twenty-first century scene."" --Neal Ascherson, New York Review of Books ""Drawing extensively on U.S. archival material as well as some Russian, British, French, German, Serbian and Czech sources, Steil tells the story of not just the development of the Marshall Plan but also the division of Germany, the founding of NATO and, as the subtitle of his book indicates, the dawn of the Cold War. Steil's account is the most detailed yet. . . . Steil is at his best when describing the myriad agencies and policies that oversaw and executed the Marshall Plan. . . . He writes elegantly on economics, explaining complicated mechanisms used to fuel the Western European recovery, such as implementation of counterpart funds, the creation of the European Payments Union, and the cancellation of German debt."" --Washington Post ""Even readers who consider themselves well-versed on what became the Marshall Plan will be gripped by the details in Benn Steil's retelling of just how Mr. Truman's idea became reality. . . . Mr. Steil, an economist for the Council on Foreign Relations, is at his narrative best in recounting how the program was put together."" --Washington Times ""It may be hard to imagine someone hurrying home to curl up with a work of political history, but Benn Steil's fascinating new book The Marshall Plan could change that. Steil, author of the acclaimed The Battle of Bretton Woods, has given us a thoroughly researched and well-written account of the crucial years of 1947-49 and formation of the Marshall Plan. . . . his expertise energizes his thoughtful and meticulous writing style. . . . [The book] will appeal to history buffs in general and those seeking a definitive record of America's first diplomatic confrontation with Soviet Russia in particular."" --USA Today ""Painstakingly researched and well-written. . . . A resounding success."" --Financial History ""This is a gripping, complex, and critically important story that is told with clarity and precision. The book is superbly documented and reflects an extraordinary level of research."" --Christian Science Monitor ""What is interesting and important in Steil's account is his emphasis on U.S. initiative. . . . Steil's well-crafted new book . . . puts the initiative in grand strategic perspective. . . . In his retelling of the story of the Marshall Plan, Steil makes an important contribution by emphasizing the U.S. role in Germany's recovery and the political and strategic consequences that flowed from it. . . . In his concluding chapter, Steil draws some surprising comparisons between the 1940s and the post-Cold War years."" --Foreign Affairs"

Author Information

"Benn Steil is senior fellow and director of international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author of The Marshall Plan: Dawn of the Cold War, winner of the New York Historical Society's Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize in American History and the American Academy of Diplomacy's Douglas Dillon Award. His previous book, the prizewinning Battle of Bretton Woods: John Maynard Keynes, Harry Dexter White, and the Making of a New World Order, was called ""a triumph of economic and diplomatic history"" by the Financial Times, ""a superb history"" by The Wall Street Journal, and ""the gold standard on its subject"" by The New York Times. He lives in New York with his two boys."

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