"The Arrow and the Olive Branch" tells a unique version of American history. Godwin tracks down every major presidential statement on foreign policy from George Washington to George W. Bush, reconstructs the doctrine of practical idealism, and guides the reader on a journey to rediscover America's timeless foreign policy principles.

"The Arrow and the Olive Branch" is a cross between "The Federalist Papers," the instructions our founding fathers wrote explaining how the Constitution should work, and "The Prince," Niccolo Machiavelli's 16th-century treatise on statecraft. It begins with...

This timely analysis of President George W. Bush's foreign policy deals with the cornerstone of his administrations the "war on terror" as implemented in Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, and at Abu Ghraib prison. The Choice of War: The Iraq War and the "Just War" Tradition discusses NSS 2002, the national security statement that became the blueprint for the Bush Doctrine. It explains the differences and similarities between preventive and pre-emptive war and explores the administration's justification of the necessity of the March 2003 invasion. Finally, it analyzes the conduct of...