{"product_id":"most-noble-adventure-the-marshall-plan-and-how-america-helped-rebuild-europe-9780743282642","title":"Most Noble Adventure: The Marshall Plan and How America Helped Rebuild Europe","description":"In this landmark, character-driven history, Greg Behrman tells the story of the Marshall Plan, the unprecedented and audacious policy through which America helped rebuild World War II-ravaged Western Europe. With nuanced, vivid prose, Behrman recreates the story of a unique American enterprise that was at once strategic, altruistic and stunningly effective, and of a time when America stood as a beacon of generosity and moral leadership. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e When World War II ended in Europe, the continent lay in tatters. Tens of millions of people had been killed. Ancient cities had been demolished. The economic, financial and commercial foundations of Europe were in shambles. Western Europe's Communist parties -- feeding off people's want and despair -- were flourishing as, to the east, Stalin's Soviet Union emerged as the sole superpower on the continent. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The Marshall Plan was a four-year, $13 billion (more than $100 billion in today's dollars) plan to provide assistance for Europe's economic recovery. More than an aid program, it sought to modernize Western Europe's economies and launch them on a path to prosperity and integration; to restore Western Europe's faith in democracy and capitalism; to enmesh the region firmly in a Western economic association and eventually a military alliance. It was the linchpin of America's strategy to meet the Soviet threat. It helped to trigger the Cold War and, eventually, to win it. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Through detailed and exhaustive research, Behrman brings this vital and dramatic epoch to life and animates the personalities that shaped it. The narrative follows the six extraordinary American statesmen -- George Marshall, Will Clayton, Arthur Vandenberg, Richard Bissell, Paul Hoffman and W. Averell Harriman -- who devised and implemented the Plan, as well as some of the century's most important personalities -- Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, Joseph McCarthy -- who are also central players in the drama told here. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e More than a humanitarian endeavor, the Marshall Plan was one of the most effective foreign policies in all of American history, in large part because, as Behrman writes, it was born and executed in a time when American \"foreign policy was defined by its national interests and the very best of ideals.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Greg Behrman\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Free Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/12\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 464\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.96lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.42h x 6.30w x 1.13d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780743282642\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGreg Behrman\u003c\/b\u003e is the Henry Kissinger Fellow for Foreign Policy at The Aspen Institute. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Invisible People: How the U.S. Has Slept Trough the Global AIDS Pandemic, The Greatest Humanitarian Catastrophe of Our Time\u003c\/i\u003e (Free Press; June 2004). \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e called the book, \"[w]ell researched and unsparing,\" and an \"important volume.\" \u003ci\u003eThe Baltimore Sun\u003c\/i\u003e lauded the \"eloquent history\" as \"[m]arvelous.\" \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post Book World\u003c\/i\u003e suggested that it was \"[a]head of its time.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAll of the proceeds from his first book were donated to Heartbeat, a South African-based not-for-profit that provides care for AIDS orphans. Behrman is on Heartbeat's Board of Directors. He was also the Coordinator for the Council on Foreign Relations Roundtable on Improving U.S. Global AIDS Policy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBehrman has moderated Roundtable events with leading policy makers and experts and has been the featured speaker at The Council on Foreign Relations (Washington D.C.), The Asia Society (NY), The Commonwealth Club of California (San Francisco), The Foreign Policy Association (NY), Harvard, Yale, Princeton and dozens of other venues. He has appeared on NBC, PBS, C-SPAN, CNN, Fox News, CNBC and National Pubic Radio (NPR). His writing has appeared in \u003ci\u003eNewsweek International, Los Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eInternational Herald Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHe graduated \u003ci\u003emagna cum laude\u003c\/i\u003e with a BA in Politics and a certificate in Political Economy from Princeton University. He graduated with an M.Phil in International Relations from Oxford University. He also worked in the Principal Investment Area at Goldman Sachs \u0026amp; Co. in New York City for several years. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBehrman has held a world record in fly-fishing and has completed the New York City Marathon. An avid mountaineer, he has summitted Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Elbrus, in Africa and Russia, respectively. He is a member of The Explorer's Club in New York City, where he also resides.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis title is not returnable\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Free Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":40955513864307,"sku":"9.78074E+12","price":29.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_65b2f8a2-e5a0-4741-bdc0-17f1f869ae56.jpg?v=1694623974","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/en-de\/products\/most-noble-adventure-the-marshall-plan-and-how-america-helped-rebuild-europe-9780743282642","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}