'The Marshall Plan' considers how and why the US became a global superpower

America’s global perspective has changed a lot in the last year. International agreements have been abandoned, longstanding allies have been insulted, authoritarian regimes have been comforted, and bellicosity has frequently replaced the measured language of diplomacy. More than a hint of isolationism is in the air. Taken together, it represents a sea change in America’s outlook and behavior.  

These changes make it all the more necessary to understand how and why, after World War II, the United States abandoned centuries of isolation and began to assert itself on the world stage. Benn Steil’s new book, is an important and welcome analysis of