William Hyland has constructed a thorough and insightful work that examines the foreign policy during the first six years of the Clinton administration. President Bill Clinton was the first post-Cold War president, and was an extremely popular leader in the era of global transition. The author chronicles the evolution of the president's outlook from inexperience and idealism to trial-and-error pragmatism. He recognizes Clinton's successes (NATO enlargement, NAFTA, and the Dayton Peace Accords), while also noting the continuation of certain problem issues (Saddam Hussein, Fidel Castro, virulent nationalism, proliferating weapons of mass destruction, a failed Russia, and the Asian financial crisis). At the heart of this book, Hyland builds on his own extensive knowledge and experience in the foreign policy process (having served as an intelligence officer and editor of Foreign Affairs). He identifies the important dimensions for American foreign policy in the post-Cold War era: America's role as...