
The View from Xanadu
William Randolph Hearst and United States Foreign Policy
Ian Mugridge(Author)
McGill-Queen's University Press
Will be published approx. on 1. May 1995
Book
Paperback/Softback
232 pages
978-0-7735-1295-5 (ISBN)
Description
Hearst is usually remembered as a flag-waving, jingoistic patriot who was anti-British, anti-French, anti-Oriental - anti almost everything except the United States. He was regarded as an admirer of Hitler and Mussolini, and a staunch isolationist who believed that minimizing American contact with the rest of the world was the only sure way to achieve security. Using all the journalistic apparatus at his disposal, Hearst trumpeted his views about the conduct of other nations and peoples and, more particularly, about the conduct of his own country in relation to them. The Spanish-American War of 1898 was often described as "Mr Hearst's war" because of the role he apparently played in pushing the United States into it. Mugridge investigates Hearst's journalistic tactics, which seldom varied, and concludes that ultimately Hearst's flamboyant style militated against his being taken seriously by those responsible for the nation's affairs. Exploring the personal side of this very public figure, Mugridge argues that Hearst was a far more complex individual than previous biographers have assumed. He probes beneath Hearst's largely self-created image to delineate the aspirations, anxieties, and vanities that led Hearst to embrace and advance his positions on U.S. foreign relations.
Reviews / Votes
"Probably the best picture of Hearst's overall thinking to date. Mugridge's assessments are judicious and balanced, correcting previous excesses and biases." David Healy, History, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. "The View from Xanadu marks a significant contribution to the historiography of American foreign relations and the nexus between media and policy. It will take its place alongside Ronald Steel's Walter Lippmann and the American Century as a basic reference on journalism and U.S. foreign relations." Geoff Smith, History, Queen's University.More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Montreal
Canada
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
327 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7735-1295-5 (9780773512955)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/1995
McGill-Queen's University Press
€89.99
Available for download
Person
Ian Mugridge