William E. Borah and American Foreign Policy, Robert J. Maddox closely examines the famed senator from Idaho by placing the senator's words in the context of his actions. Maddox argues that Borah possessed a sense of fatalism that affected his entire outlook. The thesis also forwards the notion that Borah's objectives never changed throughout his career, meaning that the Borah of 1917 was the same Borah of 1939. According to the author, Borah used whatever tactics were available to pursue his often unclear goals. Finally, Maddox concludes that this ends-justifies-the-means approach created the perception of inconsistency where inconsistency did not exist.

The format of the book follows the senator's major interests, specifically the fight over the League of Nations, the peace plans in the 1920's, U.S. recognition of Russia (Soviet Union), and neutrality in the 1930's. Borah's demonstrated his canniness by his advocacy of a naval conference and disarmament...