Books 2.1

I finally finished reading Present at the Creation, Dean Acheson's memoirs about his years at the State Department (Assistant and Undersecretary 1941-1947, Secretary 1949-1953). The title comes from one of the great all time statements of hubris from Alphonso the Learned, a 13th century Spanish king who announced "Had I been present at the creation, I may have offered some useful hints for the better ordering of the universe." Acheson, however, is referring to his creation of a new universe as the Cold War began, and it seemed a good title.

The book was reasonably well-written. It told a complex narrative in a mostly orderly fashion, though at times it became a bit disorganized. He threw in several humorous anecdotes, but he generally maintained his course of explaining the politics of many decisions in the era. He had the advantage of having the final word on many issues ranging from the McCarthy hearings (probably a fair perspective) and MacArthur's actions in Korea (maybe a bit less fair) to the course taken by NATO and the UN at their formation (certainly a noticeable agenda there).

I found myself agreeing with many of his views on politics. It also helped that he spent much of the book exulting the wisdom of Harry S Truman. There were several points, however, where it was clear that the political era of that time was very different from that of today.

The most interesting part, I think, was getting his perspective on the Marshall Plan, which in spite of being written 40 years ago, was probably as insightful about foreign aid as Paul Collier. He writes extensively about what foreign aid should and should not be and how it should be managed, and he seems to have really understood the idea. As time went on, ideas evolved, and foreign aid has become much less productive than it was during the days of the Marshall Plan.

Anyway, it will probably be good for me to move on to some lighter reading. Amy had some books when she and Enos came, so that will be good. Still, Dean Acheson was a pretty cool guy. We'll see if Hillary can fill those shoes.