In the Beginning.

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  • Author(s): Holbrooke, Richard
  • Source:
    Foreign Affairs. Nov/Dec2002, Vol. 81 Issue 6, p148-152. 5p.
  • Additional Information
    • Subject Terms:
      FIRST Great Triumph: How Five Americans Made Their Country a World Power (Book); ZIMMERMANN, Warren; UNITED States history, 1865-1921; NONFICTION
    • Abstract:
      This article presents a review essay of 'First Great Triumph: How Five Americans Made Their Country a World Power,' by Warren Zimmermann. According to the reviewer, the book is a riveting reexamination of the period between 1898 and 1903, when America became an imperial power. Zimmermann's device is to retell this period through the eyes of five men who often worked together and were, by and large, unabashed imperialists: President Theodore Roosevelt, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, John Hay, Elihu Root, and Alfred T. Mahan. The story Zimmermann tells is essential background for anyone interested in how the US arrived at its present place in the world. The book can be read as a cautionary tale with modern relevance or simply as a fascinating visit to an era that received far too little attention in recent years.