Nonpartisan and private, the New York-based Council has been called an "incubator of ideas." From its book-lined meeting rooms, the pages of its journal Foreign Affairs, and its many books and other publications have come much of the most important thinking about U.S. foreign policy, from the isolationist era of the 1920s, through World War II and the Cold War - and now into the 21st century.

Peter Grose's fresh and informal history reflects the diverse voices of council members, with influence in both political parties, in all administrations since Wilson's, and on competing sides of most major issues.

Richly illustrated with photographs and cartoons, this book reveals a group of men and woman engaged in spirited debate on the problems of the day: whether to put "America First" or fight fascism; how to contain communism; how to match nuclear weapons and diplomacy; whether to recognize communist China; how to end the war in Vietnam; and what to do about the post-Cold War world.