Beyond the Nixon Shocks - (New Approaches to International History) by Thomas Zeiler (Hardcover)

About the Book

An examination of US foreign and domestic policies during the 1970s, exploring their immediate impact on the global stage and the consequences for the past half century.

Book Synopsis

In 1971 President Nixon shocked the world with a series of announcements and policies that changed the political landscape at home, and shifted the bases of international power abroad.

From newly opened diplomatic channels with China to unilateral monetary and trade reforms, this book argues that the so called 'Nixon Shocks' transformed not only America but the international economic, security, political and cultural arenas.

Zeiler shows how, along with events such as the release of the Pentagon papers and oil crises, the United States' foreign and domestic policies of the 1970s indicated the coming of a new world order. Providing a snapshot of these key moments, as the Cold War waned and new powers rose, Beyond the Nixon Shocks highlights America's role in this era of globalization, tumult and uncertainty, and explores how they were received on the global stage. This book helps us to understand not only the impact of the global 1970s on world affairs, but how events and policies made half a century ago have shaped our modern age.

Review Quotes

"Before Donald Trump, there was Richard Nixon, who during four months in 1971 made decisions that fundamentally disrupted the international order as well as America's economy and society. Historian Thomas Zeiler has done a masterful job of analyzing these earlier disruptions and their long-term consequences for the United States and the world." --Thomas Schwartz, Professor of History, Vanderbilt University, USA

"The United States fundamentally reshaped its relationship with the world in the 1970s. Economically. Financially. Militarily. Most especially its sense of global purpose. No one understands those tectonic changes better than Tom Zeiler, whose mastery of the macro and the nuanced makes Beyond the Nixon Shocks essential reading for anyone keen to understand a transformative moment, perhaps THE transformative moment, in shaping America's global role today." -- Jeffrey A. Engel, David Gergen Director at the Center for Presidential History, Southern Methodist University, USA

About the Author

Thomas W. Zeiler is Professor of History and Director of the Program in International Affairs at the University of Colorado Boulder, USA. He specializes in American history, focused on diplomacy and economics, globalization, baseball and sports, and World War II. He published Capitalist Peace: A History of American Free Trade Internationalism in 2022. Tom has served as the editor of the journal of record of his field, Diplomatic History, served as President of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR), as a member of the Department of State's Historical Advisory Committee, and has lectured widely abroad, including holding Fulbright fellowships in Argentina, Japan, and France.