Grand Improvisations: America Confronts the British Superpower, 1945–1957
Journal: Political Science Quarterly
Year: 2019

The title of Derek Leebaert’s sprawling book signals its intent to depart from orthodoxy. Missing are allusions to a “Special Relationship,” Britain’s retreat from Empire, or even the Cold War. The concept of America confronting a superpower other than the Soviet Union is jarring. By titling his book in such an iconoclastic way, Leebaert will provoke some readers to read another book on Anglo-American relations in the aftermath of World War II. This is no mean feat. There are already enough of t