This is the first study of French-American relations in the critical postwar period, 1945-1954, which makes use of recently opened diplomatic archives and personal papers in France and the United States. Wall examines the American role in French diplomacy, economic reconstruction, military policy, politics, and the reshaping of French society from labor unions to consumer tastes and films. Particular emphasis is placed on American attempts to combat the influence of French Communism and achieve a stable, centrist regime avoiding the extremes of right and left.