New Books

Woodrow Wilson and Harry Truman: Mission and Power in American Foreign Policy, by Anne Rice Pierce ’78, Praeger, 2003, 320 pages

Anne Pierce’s book examines Woodrow Wilson and Harry Truman in light of the broader American tradition and explores the way they combined reverence for the past with innovative policies.

Recurring throughout our history are the ideas that repressive governments are doomed to failure; that liberty is a motivating force; that freedom must be guided by principles and protected by power; and that the example of our democracy is a challenge to all forms of political oppression and an inspiration to those desiring to be free.

Wilson and Truman took these ideas as the starting point for their policy formulations and pronouncements. They viewed the enhancement of American power and the invigoration of American principles as the only response to the modern problems of bolshevism, imperialism, totalitarianism, and “total war.” They saw our increased responsibilities in the world as the fulfillment of our democratic purpose.

Truman both acknowledged his indebtedness to Wilson and learned from his mistakes. This book reveals Truman’s brilliance as a foreign policy strategist and his fervency as a spokesperson for American ideals.

European Capital, British Iron, and an American Dream: The Story of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad, by William Reynolds, edited by Peter K. Gifford, systems manager for Administrative Computing Services at the College, and Robert D. Ilisevich, University of Akron Press, 2002, 288 pages, photographs

The Atlantic & Great Western Railroad was one of the earliest and largest east-west railroad projects in the United States. It was the dream of American builders William Reynolds of Pennsylvania and Marvin Kent of Ohio. By using the nonstandard six-foot gauge, these men helped construct a trunk line connecting the Atlantic tidewater with the Mississippi River “without break of gauge.”

Money for the construction came principally from European investors, like Don Jose de Salamanca of Spain, while Great Britain furnished the iron. A strong English support group included James McHenry, Sir Samuel Morton Peto, and the brilliant engineer Thomas Kennard. This American-European enterprise represented a unique example of intercontinental cooperation in railroad history.

Reynolds was the first president of the Pennsylvania and New York divisions of the A&GW. This history is the first published source on this important railroad.

With a memorable talent for detail and authority, Reynolds demonstrates how difficult it was to build a railroad against the backdrop of the Civil War. The lack of capital and resources, the scarcity of labor, the control of the oil market, and the endless struggle against hostile public opinion and fierce competitors like the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central posed challenges that were not easily overcome. Yet, as Reynolds states, “in the face of all these formidable obstacles, the enterprise was crowned with success.”