One could reasonably ask whether, after only twelve years, we really need a third edition of Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations. The answer, for a range of audiences, is yes. The book strikes a difficult balance between being accessible to students new to the field and offering value to regular attendees of the annual meeting of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR). For those who already have the first or second edition, the third edition is worth adding to your shelf.
In many ways, the third edition of Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations will be familiar to readers of the first and second. After all, the contributors include eight former presidents of SHAFR. This new volume, however, expands considerably over the previous version, with 21 chapters as well as an introduction. The third edition includes six additional chapters and 140 more pages....