Rating: 
Summary: a less-than-evenhanded essay rather than an objective study
Review: This book cannot be defended as a non-biased overview and thus should not be the only book you read on the facsinating subject of US Cold War foreign policy. While informative of a particular point of view, the consistent bias is unmistakable, and the side that's in the wrong, in the author's view, are those who defended and eventually won the battle against totalitarianism. On page after page, the Soviets are given the benefit of the doubt (such as Ambrose's astonishing obfuscation of Soviet responsibility for the KAL 007 shootdown) while the US is excoriated. Is there anybody (outside of Communist Party members) in the former Soviet Union, or anywhere else in the world, who still holds to this line? It's amazing that in the year 2000 (and for a book that was reprinted most recently in 1997) a popular work like this still dogmatically toes the line of the one side's view (the losing side's, on top of that!) of the foreign policy debates that essentially ended in the mid 1980's. While Ronald Reagan's 'Evil Empire' rhetoric of the early 1980's is today seen as a non-controversial statement of obvious truth, the author still seems to have his head in the sand about what the cold war was really about. Thank God Ambrose wasn't making policy when the Soviets were around!
Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Survey of Foreign Policy
Review: This book is an excellent jumping off point for any student of international relations and is quite possibly the best book available for someone who simply wants to know more about American history in the 20th century.The latest edition of this book (up through Clinton's first term as president) covers roughly 58 years of American foreign poicy in 428 pages; since an entire set of books could easily be written about this period there is going to be a good deal that Ambrose glosses over and skips. If you are looking for detail about any one period in American history, look elsewhere. But if you simply want a map of what has been going on in foreign policy then you will be hard pressed to do better than this book. "Rise to Globalism" is definitely written from an historical perspective; it reads like a narrative and as such has only the smallest bit of analysis. While this book rates very highly in providing a sense of what has been happening, there is not much to inform you about the political theory, ideology, or trends that underlied decisions that American leaders made in foreign policy. This is not so much a criticism of "Rise to Globalism" (as there is only so much that can be fit into one book); instead take it as a way to differentiate this book from other worthy foreign policy titles that you may be choosing from. Ambrose's prose is excellent and engaging; often I would read large chunks of this book in one sitting. Admittedly a lot has been going on in world politics and to his credit Ambrose knows what is substantial enough to include, and what details to leave to the reader to seek for herself. This helps the book immeasurably, as it rarely gets bogged down in unnecessary detail. An overlooked but extremely helpful part of this book is the extensive bibliography. For each chapter, Ambrose includes a lengthy list of books that the reader can examine to more deeply probe anything that has been included in "Rise to Globalism." While anyone can benefit from this feature, the bibliography will be espcially useful for students as it is an excellent way to quickly find other high quality books on foreign relations (especially useful if one needs information for term papers). Basically, if you are in any way intereseted in American foreign policy this book is a must have. And if you have no interest whatsoever in American foreign policy this book is still highly recommended as it reads very well as a narrative.
Rating:
Summary: The best book on 20th Century American Foreign Policy
Review: This is a classic! Simply the best single volume account of American Foreign Policy I have ever read. Ambrose writes in a clear and concise way, leaving nothing out yet avoiding dry, dull text. His analysis is suburb, his conclusions lucid and thought provoking. This is the book to read if you want a comprehensive overview of America's foreign policy of the past 60 years.
Rating: 
Summary: A good first, but not last, primer on US foreign policy
Review: This is a compact primer for the novice (including myself) to US foreign policy during the last 65 years. It serves as a useful starting point for identifying points of interest and it provides a reasonably good list of additional resources. Because the authors' biases are pretty blatant--whether you agree with them or not--this book should be incorporated into a repertoire of foreign policy reading material, and not as your one-and-only foray.
Rating:
Summary: Rise to Animalism
Review: This is an excellent book even for those who absolutely have no background about American foreign policy in the past 60 years. This book made me believe that capitalism is in fact pure animalism in the wildest jungles. It's even worse than that; atleast animals attack other animals only when they are hungry, but the American leaders have always been aggressive in the past sixty years. This book also made me realize that the most popular leaders were the most aggressive leaders. The book mentions that the popularity polls for the American leaders sky rock after every aggressive move in the world. I wonder what does that say about the American people! The book says that world won't need to search for a new "ism" because humanity has finally found the perfect one in Liberalism, but I am not so sure. Read the book and judge for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and Easy to Read
Review: This was a required book for one of my history courses at Boston University several years ago, and I found myself recommending it to other history buffs. It's amazingly readable and is not dry at all as some scholarly books tend to be. Highly recommened for anyone interested in the cold war, foreign policy, or american history. This was the first Stephen Ambrose book I read, and I have since increased my collection considerably. Mr Ambrose is a gifted author and historian.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and Easy to Read
Review: This was a required book for one of my history courses at Boston University several years ago, and I found myself recommending it to other history buffs. It's amazingly readable and is not dry at all as some scholarly books tend to be. Highly recommened for anyone interested in the cold war, foreign policy, or american history. This was the first Stephen Ambrose book I read, and I have since increased my collection considerably. Mr Ambrose is a gifted author and historian.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This was the FIRST real (Yup. REAL.) history book that I read, as a college freshman, and it led me to major in history. Ambrose is one of the very few history writers who does so in such a great way that one can't put his books/articles/stories down; so compelling is his work. I'd reccommend his history writings, especially "Rise To Globalism" to everyone. Tons that you'll learn--that no one ever taught.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive and Smooth
Review: Two of the most well-known and well-read history writers have presented the subject in this book in a manner that is both comprehensive and incredibly smooth. The book is great not only for the breadth of the subjects covered, but also the depth of the insights. The authors are able to provide both without redundancy. Additionally, the subject matter flows from one event to the next without interuption. This is an excellent book for someone interested in the United States and its relationship with the rest of the world during the last 70 years. It is basic but not overly simple.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive and Smooth
Review: Two of the most well-known and well-read history writers have presented the subject in this book in a manner that is both comprehensive and incredibly smooth. The book is great not only for the breadth of the subjects covered, but also the depth of the insights. The authors are able to provide both without redundancy. Additionally, the subject matter flows from one event to the next without interuption. This is an excellent book for someone interested in the United States and its relationship with the rest of the world during the last 70 years. It is basic but not overly simple.
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