Title: The Cold War and the United States Information Agency : American propaganda and public diplomacy, 1945-1989 /
Authors: Cull, Nicholas John.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press,
Year: 2008
Subjects: United States Information Agency History.; United States Relations.; United States Foreign relations; United States Relations.
Abstract: "Published at a time when the U.S. government's public diplomacy is in crisis, this book provides an exhaustive account of how it used to be done. The United States Information Agency was created, in 1953, to "tell America's story to the world" and, by engaging with the world through international information, broadcasting, culture, and exchange programs, became an essential element of American foreign policy during the Cold War. Based on newly declassified archives and more than 100 interviews with veterans of public diplomacy, from the Truman administration to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nicholas J. Cull relates both the achievements and the endemic flaws of American public diplomacy in this period."--Jacket.
Contents: 1. Getting the sheep to speak: the Truman years, 1945-1953 -- 2. Mobilizing 'the P-factor': Eisenhower and the birth of USIA, 1953-1956 -- 3. In the shadow of Sputnik: the second Eisenhower administration, 1957-1961 -- 4. Inventing truth: the Kennedy administration, 1961-1963 -- 5. Maintaining confidence: the early Johnson years, 1963-1965 -- 6. 'MY radio station': the later Johnson years, 1965-1969 -- 7. Surviving detente: the Nixon administration, 1969-1974 -- 8. A new beginning: the Ford administration, 1974-1977 -- 9. From the 'two-way' mandate to the second Cold War: the Carter administration, 1977-1981 -- 10. 'Project Truth': the first Reagan administration, 1981-1985 -- 11. Showdown: the second Reagan administration, 1985-1989.