Incorporating the most recent scholarship, this eighth revised edition of this classic survey offers a concise and informative overview of the evolution of American foreign policy from 1938 to the present, focussing on such pivotal events as world War II, the Cuban missile crisis, Vietnam, and the SALT treaties. Ambrose and Brinkley also closely examine such recent topics as the Iran-contra scandal, free elections in Nicaragua, the rise of international terrorism, the fall of Communism, the Gulf War, the crisis in Bosnia, and President Clinton's international trade policy. In light of the enormous global power of the United States, the authors analyse how American economic aggressiveness, racism, and fear of Communism have shaped the country's evolving foreign policy.