Reference books on US foreign relations abound. This work, however, stands out from the pack. The co-editors, both diplomatic historians, have artfully succeeded in blending history and political science into a distinctive hybrid work. Exhibiting the quality one has come to expect from the publisher CQ Press, which is now increasingly moving into the international domain, this is an excellent and thorough analytic narrative of the diplomatic history of the United States from colonial times to the present. Atypical of conventional encyclopedic works on the subject, this one adopts a chronological approach, each chapter devoted to a discussion of a particular period of time. The two volumes consist of seven parts addressing the following themes: development and growth of American foreign policy, the emergence of the United States on the international scene, the inter-war period, the beginnings of the Cold War, post–Cold War developments, and the post–9/11 world.

Taken together, the forty chapters, engagingly written by experts (mainly academics), provide a comprehensive overview of US foreign relations, accompanied by endnotes and suggestions for further reading. Occasional photographs and sidebars that highlight key concepts, biographies of major figures, selected primary sources, and significant shifts in foreign policy enhance the text. Noteworthy additional features include an extensive bibliography for each of the parts (a consolidated list would have been preferable) and a detailed collective index.

This book will prove of inestimable value to students of US foreign affairs and will be welcomed by researchers. Those teaching courses on the history of US foreign relations will undoubtedly find it useful as supplementary reading in conjunction with standard texts such as The History of American Policy from 1895 (M.E. Sharpe, 4th ed., 2012). Belligerents, Brinkmanship, and the Big Stick: A Historical Encyclopedia of American Diplomatic Concepts (ABC-CLIO, 2009) is a similar thematic work but pales in comparison. The Guide to U.S. Foreign Policy is a highly recommended purchase for academic libraries with programs in international relations.