Well-deployed primary sources and brisk writing by Wayne H. Bowen make this an excellent framework for understanding the evolution of U.S. policy toward Spain, and thus how a nation facing a global threat develops strategic relationships over time.

President Harry S. Truman harbored an abiding disdain for Spain and its government. During his presidency (1945-1953), the State Department and the Department of Defense lobbied Truman to form an alliance with Spain to leverage that nation's geostrategic position, despite Francisco Franco's authoritarian dictatorship. The eventual alliance...