Designed to encourage critical thinking about history, this reader uses a carefully selected group of primary sources and analytical essays to allow students to test the interpretations of distinguished historians and draw their own conclusions about the history of American foreign policy. This text serves as an effective educational tool for courses on U.S. foreign policy, recent U.S. history, or 20th Century U.S. history. The Sixth Edition incorporates coverage of the post-Cold War era--including the attacks of September 11th and the War in Iraq--as well as new material that examines the role of gender, race, and national identity in American foreign policy.