Surveys the development of national security since World War II and the most important issues the nation has faced, and offers a chronology, entries on prominent individuals, and details on major documents, treaties, and speeches.

Preface --1. Introduction -- What is national security? -- The old days : Cold War, 1947-1989 -- New threats since 1989 -- The changing national security apparatus -- Notes -- 2. Enduring questions in U.S. national security -- Past controversies -- Current controversies -- Notes -- 3. Chronology -- 4. Personalities -- 5. Documents -- United Nations charter (1945) -- "The long telegram" (1946) -- Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech (1946) -- The Truman Doctrine (1947) -- The Marshall Plan speech (1947) -- "Mr. X" article in Foreign affairs (1947) -- The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (1947) -- North Atlantic Treaty Organization charter (1949) -- Dean Acheson's "Perimeter" speech (1950) -- NSC 68 (1950) -- The Domino Theory (1954) -- John Foster Dulles's "Massive retaliation" speech (1954) -- Final declaration of the Geneva Conference on Indochina : the Geneva Accords (1954) -- President Dwight Eisenhower's "Military-industrial complex" speech (1961) -- Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964) -- UN Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) -- The Nixon Doctrine (1969) -- Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (1970) -- The Pentagon Papers (1971) -- Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty I (1972) -- Antiballistic Missile Treaty (1972) -- The Shanghai Communiqué (1972) -- War Powers Resolution (1973) -- Camp David Accords (1978) -- Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II (1979) -- Taiwan Relations Act (1979) -- President Ronald Reagan's SDI/Grenada Speech (1983) -- Tower Report on the Iran-Contra Scandal (1987) -- Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (1991) -- North American Free Trade Association (1994) -- World Trade Organization (1994) -- Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (1996) -- President George W. Bush's War on terrorism speech (2001) -- 6. Directory of organizations -- Nongovernmental organizations -- Governmental organizations -- Web addresses for governmental organizations -- 7. Selected print and nonprint resources -- Print resources -- Nonprint resources -- Commercial media -- Index -- About the author.