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The Georgetown set : friends and rivals in Cold War Washington

-- Establishment elite who waged--and won--the Cold War

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In the years after World War II, Georgetown's leafy streets were home to an unlikely group of Cold Warriors: a coterie of affluent, well-educated, and connected civilians who helped steer American strategy from the Marshall Plan through McCarthyism, Watergate, and the endgame of Vietnam. The Georgetown set included Phil and Kay Graham, husband-and-wife publishers of The Washington Post; Joe and Stewart Alsop, odd-couple brothers who were among the country's premier political pundits; Frank Wisner, a driven, manic-depressive lawyer in charge of CIA covert operations; and a host of other diplomats, spies, and scholars responsible for crafting America's response to the Soviet Union from Truman to Reagan. This was a smaller, cozier Washington--utterly unlike today's capital--where presidents made foreign policy in consultation with reporters and professors over martinis and hors d'oeuvres, and columnists like the Alsops promoted those policies in the next day's newspapers. Together, they navigated the perilous years of the Cold War, yielding triumphs--and tragedies--with very real consequences for present-day America and the world.--From publisher description.

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Title

The Georgetown set : friends and rivals in Cold War Washington -- Establishment elite who waged--and won--the Cold War

Call No

F202.G3

Edition

1st ed.

Authors

Herken, Gregg, 1947-

Subjects

Political culture--Washington (D.C.)--History--20th century.
Cold War.
Upper class--Washington (D.C.)--History--20th century.
Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)--History--20th century.
Washington (D.C.)--History--20th century.
Washington (D.C.)--Social life and customs--20th century.
Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)--Biography.
Washington (D.C.)--Biography.

Language

English

Published

Publication Desc

xi, 494 p., : ill., map ;

ISBN

9780307271181

LCCN

2013047033

Dimensions

25 cm

Availability Summary MARC Cover Image Additional Info

Summary Note

In the years after World War II, Georgetown's leafy streets were home to an unlikely group of Cold Warriors: a coterie of affluent, well-educated, and connected civilians who helped steer American strategy from the Marshall Plan through McCarthyism, Watergate, and the endgame of Vietnam. The Georgetown set included Phil and Kay Graham, husband-and-wife publishers of The Washington Post; Joe and Stewart Alsop, odd-couple brothers who were among the country's premier political pundits; Frank Wisner, a driven, manic-depressive lawyer in charge of CIA covert operations; and a host of other diplomats, spies, and scholars responsible for crafting America's response to the Soviet Union from Truman to Reagan. This was a smaller, cozier Washington--utterly unlike today's capital--where presidents made foreign policy in consultation with reporters and professors over martinis and hors d'oeuvres, and columnists like the Alsops promoted those policies in the next day's newspapers. Together, they navigated the perilous years of the Cold War, yielding triumphs--and tragedies--with very real consequences for present-day America and the world.--From publisher description.

General Note

A Borzoi Book.
"This is a Borzoi Book"--Title page  verso.

Content Note

The WASP ascendancy -- "A political village" -- "Some higher realm of intellect and power" -- "Is war inevitable?" -- "Would he go into the woods?" -- "To fight fire with fire" -- "Some brave new approach" -- "A land of conspiracy, run by conspirators" -- "Why has Washington gone crazy?" -- "A rather serious border incident" -- "Venomous, exciting and pretty frightening" -- Bold Easterners -- "Stray and gusty winds" -- "The wild pigs of Capitol Hill" -- "An act of very great folly" -- "A chap of great promise" -- "The prophet of the missile gap" -- "A breathless time, full of promise and energy" -- "We will all fry" -- "How great is one's duty to truth?" -- Dégringolade -- "The other side of the coin" -- "I'm afraid Joe is a cruel man" -- "It was the war that did him in" -- "Nobody plays by the rules anymore" -- "There is a feeling of doors closing" -- Epilogue: "We're all so old or dead": the end of the Georgetown set.