Acknowledgments
This book began in the history department at The George Washington University in 1995. I am immensely grateful to Professor Peter P. Hill, who allowed me to convince him that it was a viable topic; to Ronald Spector and William R. Johnson, who also served on the original research committee; and to Edward Berkowitz, Edward McCord, and Thomas Elmore, who rounded out the final examining committee. I am also indebted to the late Professor Lawrence Gelfand, who was my adviser during my masters program at the University of Iowa, and who let me convince him to check the box on my graduation form that endorsed me for future doctoral studywhen he was ambivalent about doing so. Finally, I am eternally grateful to Professor Joan Skurnowicz, who first inspired me at Loras College to become a history major.
Both during the original research and when I revisited the project twenty years later, I received invaluable assistance from the staffs at the National Archives in Washington, DC, and College Park, Maryland; the Washington National Records Center in Suitland, Maryland; the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri; the George C. Marshall Research Foundation in Lexington, Virginia; the MacArthur Memorial Archives in Norfolk, Virginia; and the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library in Princeton, New Jersey. Archival librarians are the caretakers of a priceless segment of our national treasure.
The twenty-year delay in my pursuit of publication was due to my preoccupation with a richly rewarding career as an analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This left me no time to devote to academic publishing, but I never abandoned my dream of turning my dissertation on Kennans involvement with East Asia into a book. In the meantime, I enjoyed generous support and encouragement for both my doctoral studies and my dream of publication from my supervisors and colleagues in the Intelligence Community and elsewhere in the government, and among many scholars who also became professional colleagues and friends during my years in government service. Their names are too numerous to list, but they know who they are, and I am deeply grateful for their inestimable contributions to my professional and personal development.
It was the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that gave me the long-sought opportunity, after I retired from government, to return to the Kennan project by offering me its Robert E. Wilhelm Fellowship. I am deeply grateful to Dick Samuels for the invitation; to Robert E. Wilhelm for his sponsorship; and to Barry Posen, Taylor Fravel, Phiona Lovett, Laurie Scheffler, and the rest of the faculty, staff, and students at MITs Security Studies Program for welcoming me into their extraordinary company. They provided me with an ideal environment in which to not only pursue this book project but also learn so much through immersion in the activities and expertise of the Security Studies Program.
During my time at MIT I also received generous cross-town support and encouragement from Graham Allison and Gary Samore at Harvard Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Government. They provided me with a forum to discuss my Kennan project with faculty and students there, and the opportunity to participate more broadly in Kennedy School events. As at MIT, I benefitted greatly from the wealth of world-class expertise that resides at or is drawn to the Harvard campus.
As the process advanced, I eventually crossed the threshold into the academic publishing world. I am deeply grateful to Roger Haydon at Cornell University Press, who introduced me to both the process and his colleague Michael McGandy, who became my editor. My biggest debt is to Michael, who accepted the project and assumed the task of guiding me to the finish line, thus making possible the fulfillment of my twenty-year-old dream. He served simultaneously as a constructive critic and a sympathetic cheerleader as he walked me through the review and publication processes. I also greatly appreciate the comments and recommendations from the anonymous reviewers that Michael consulted; their input, in tandem with his, was instrumental in prompting me to substantially transform the manuscript from my original concept into the much richer narrative of the final version.
I am also grateful to the CIA Publications Review Board for its thorough review of the manuscript. For the record, this review was done solely for classification purposes and does not constitute an official release of CIA information. All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis in the book are mine and do not reflect official positions or views of the CIA or any other US government agency. Nothing in the book should be construed as asserting or implying US government authentication of information or CIA endorsement of my views.
This book would not exist without the contributions to history made by the late George F. Kennan and John Paton Davies Jr., both of whom I had the enormous privilege and thrill of corresponding with directly while working on the original dissertation. Both men were generous in responding to my queries about their work together during the early Cold War, and both read my dissertation in its entirety and offered me highly gratifying compliments. This book is their story, and it is a great honor to tell it. I also wish to thank Kennans other biographers, especially John Lewis Gaddis, Wilson Miscamble, and David Mayers, all of whom originally encouraged me that Kennans role in East Asia policy was a viable and important subject for a book. Special thanks goes to Michael Green for introducing me to Daviess daughter Tiki, and to the Davies family for their support and assistance with the project.
Finally, I must express my profound thanks to my family. My parents Carl and Mary Adele Heer made possible every opportunity I have ever had, and my siblingsSteve, Joel, Dave, Tim, Janet, and Susanand their families have always provided encouragement for my work, even when they didnt realize it.
