Governing the American Lake The US Defense and Administration of the Pacific, 1945-1947 by Hal M. Friedman (East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press, 2007) explores U. S. activity in the vast Pacific area left devastated and vulnerable from World War II.
The Pacific Basin is now infamous for the growing power and reach of China, a perenially unpredictable North Korea, the strengthening economies of Southeast Asia, and trade with the U. S. and Canada. The War Department, the Pacific Command Bureau, the Navy, the State Department, and the Department of the Interior were involved in the region, straining U. S. resources and administrative capacities.
Should the islands be annexed or placed in trusteeship? As with Germany, the occupation of Japan was a foregone conclusion since it was a defeated enemy--but this still presented many problems regarding form and implementation. U. S. activity in the Philippines was also closely scrutinized in the postcolonial atmosphere of the time. The Navy considered bases on Guam and Saipan critical to its post-War role in the Pacific.
Friedman, professor of modern history at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, MI, has written an informative book for public readership. The author's reputation, research, and numerous publications in this relatively specialized field tie in ideally with current world affairs and concerns.
276+xxxi pages. $64.95 hardcover, 7" x 10", ISBN 0-87013-794-8. maps, charts, notes, bibliography, index.
