Warren Austin, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., and the Cold War at the United Nations, 1947–1960

Was there more to Cabot Lodge, Jr. than his ambassadorship to South Vietnam? There was a lot more, including his ambassadorship to the United Nations. Squarely rooted in archival research, Sean Brennan's study of Lodge and his predecessor, Warren Austin, is well written while the chapters move smoothly. The book fleshes out significant challenges that they faced during a pivotal period of the Cold War. During the fifteen years that Austin and Lodge spent in the UN, they helped the U.S. navigate a series of international crises while educating the American public on the UN. Notably, they helped to ensure that the U.S. would not fall back to isolationism, which was still advocated by some members of their own political party. Brennan also draws comparisons between Austin's and Lodge's service under different White House administrations, the different stages of their careers, and the trajectories of their political careers. I warmly recommend this book to scholars and readers interested in U.S. diplomacy, Cold War history, and the history of the UN.

-- Tuan Hoang, Pepperdine University

Sean Brennan’s Warren Austin, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and the Cold War at the United Nations, 1947-1960 takes readers to a time when creativity was a central feature of American diplomacy. Expertly researched and with a lively prose, Brennan shows how we can apply the lessons of history to the challenges of today.

-- Luke Nichter, Chapman University

Sean Brennanhas, with this book, contributed significantly to our knowledge of a key period in the history of the US relationship with, and actions in, the United Nations. Brennan examines the ambassadorial careers of Henry Cabot Lodge Jr and the lesser-known Warren Austin in a manner that will interest scholars of the UN and of the early Cold War.

-- Steven Brady, George Washington University

Sean Brennan carefully explores the contributions of two internationalist Republicans, Warren Austin and Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. during their notable service as American ambassadors to the United Nations. In the process, he sheds important light on some key episodes such as the Korean War and the Suez Crisis, and on some significant developments in American policymaking on issues such as arms control and decolonization during the initial decades of the Cold War. This insightful book will be of interest to all students of the Truman and Eisenhower foreign policies.

-- Wilson Miscamble, University of Notre Dame

“This is a valuable and engrossing look at high-level diplomacy in the early years of the UN, a period in which the new international organization confronted the challenges of decolonization, the Korean War, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, and the Suez Crisis. During that tumultuous time, Warren Austin and Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., both prominent Republican internationalists, struggled to advance the mission of the UN while representing US interests. Sean Brennan’s insightful and carefully crafted study shows how Austin and Lodge, through skillful and dedicated service, overcame the skepticism of the US foreign policy establishment and the suspicions of the American public and convinced Americans that the UN was a crucial institution in international relations.”

-- Marc Gallicchio, Villanova Univer