Anglo-American relations in the twentieth century

by Ritchie Ovendale

Challenging many existing interpretations, Professor Ovendale offers a stimulating critique of the international relations between Britain and the United States throughout this century based on the latest literature and thirty years' archival research. The author contends that in the 1920s, Britain still had 'real' power, whereas the United States was only potentially a world player. During the Second World War it was Stalin and Roosevelt who co-operated, leaving Churchill out in the cold, and that it was Britain who was the original Cold War warrior, educating a reluctant United States to the reality of the Soviet threat. Elsewhere, for example in Korea and the Middle East, Britain decided to rely on the United States for support. This led to a revival of the Anglo-American special relationship in terms of 'mutual interdependence'.