Reviews
Read reviews of Dr. Trani’s work, “The First Cold War: The Legacy of Woodrow Wilson in U.S.-Soviet Relations” and “The Presidency of Warren G. Harding.”
“The First Cold War: The Legacy of Woodrow Wilson in U.S.-Soviet Relations”
“‘The First Cold War’ brings new ideas and a fresh viewpoint to one of the most significant subjects in twentieth-century international relations … It persuasively advances the thesis that the policy position Wilson arrived at through trial and error … formed the basis for America’s long and ultimately successful prosecution of the Cold War. This is an important book with a fascinating, pertinent message.”
--John Milton Cooper Jr.
“[Dr. Davis and Dr. Trani’s] account of the formation of the first American policy regarding the Bolsheviks is extremely well-researched … as [they] persuasively point out, Wilson created a cautious policy of quarantine that remained popular in American diplomatic circles for the rest of the century.”
--Matthew Fontaine, The Washington Times
“ … [The book] is written with style and verve … it runs contrary to the conventional American memory of Woodrow Wilson purely as an idealist … ”
--Richmond Times-Dispatch
“This book is more than just an ‘interesting’ addition to the voluminous catalogue of Cold War studies. Rather, it is a major contribution to our understanding of the roots of a struggle that consumed us for the better part of half a century.”
--Lawrence S. Eagleburger, former Secretary of State
“This book is provocative in a good sense of this word. The authors very convincingly prove that the ‘Cold War’ began long before George Kennan addressed the issue of the ‘containment of communism’ in 1947.”
--Vyacheslav Nikonov, president of the Polity Foundation
“Donald Davis and Eugene Trani … make a convincing case in ‘The First Cold War’ for a much earlier start to the Cold War. They argue that relations between the United States and Russia already began to deteriorate by the time of Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration on March 4, 1913 … All of this … is exceptionally well documented … The result is a virtually ironclad case for the Cold War’s early origins.”
--Mark Burgess, Commonwealth Review
“ … Davis’ and Trani’s book will undoubtedly evoke a lively reader response and will find a prominent place among publications dealing with the dramatic events of the first decades of the 20th century.”
--Russia in Global Affairs
“An important new study of American-Russian relations during the Wilson administration.”
--Len Shurtleff, President, Western Front Association-USA
“Davis and Trani present a carefully researched and well-documented diplomatic history in ‘The First Cold War’, boasting sufficient insight to appeal to a scholarly audience and at the same time accessible to the general public.”
--Jason J. Morrissette, History, Fall 2002
“Historical perspective always seems to be in short supply in modern politics. ‘The First Cold War’ helps alleviate that problem … [It] is an important book and will stand as the authoritative treatise on the true beginning of the Cold War.”
--Bill Shepherd, The Pantagraph
“[Davis and Trani’s] overall interpretation … is vigorously presented and reinforced by a very thorough and valuable historiographic essay.”
--David S. Foglesong, historian, Rutgers University
“This is an important contribution to the broader literature on Russian-American relations. It is well researched and should be considered by all interested in the Cold War origins.”
--The Virginia Quarterly Review, Winter 2003
“Davis and Trani have produced a first-rate study of Woodrow Wilson’s Russian policy … The documentation is unusually thorough, as it includes US, British, and Russian manuscript collections, printed published documents, and scholarly articles, books, and dissertations. Essential [for] all undergraduate and graduate libraries.”
--J.D. Doenecke, CHOICE, March 2003
“In this careful study of U.S. policy making toward the Russian Revolution, Donald E. Davis and Eugene P. Trani argue that ‘President Woodrow Wilson’s administration initiated a “cold war” that lasted from 1917 to 1933’ … Davis and Trani studiously trace the origins of this policy …”
--Lloyd E. Ambrosius, The American Historical Review
“ … a solid, straightforwardly written narrative of the first three years of the U.S.-Soviet relationship. Davis and Trani also deserve credit for sifting carefully through an incredible pile of documents in various national archives. As a bonus, they have chosen to append a fine bibliographical essay that judiciously sums up scholarship to this point.”
--Frank Ninkovich, Presidential Studies Quarterly, September 2003
“Woodrow Wilson never banged his shoe on a lectern threatening to bury anyone. He never claimed to be a Berliner, nor offered to name names. But a new book by Donald E. Davis and Eugene P. Trani, M.A. 63', Ph.D. 66', makes the case that Wilson was, all the same, the first cold warrior.”
--Indiana University Alumni Magazine, November 2003
“ Davis and Trani have undertaken serious research. ‘The First Cold War’ ... is a concept that challenges the entrenched notion of a Cold War only after 1945. There was continuity in Western-Soviet relations before and after World War II.”
--Michael J. Carley, Russian History/Histoire Russe, Fall 2003
“[Davis and Trani’s] main thesis, which they support convincingly with extensive, heavily documented research and well-written prose, is that the Cold War began during the Wilson administration, not, as is often assumed, shortly after World War II ended. ... ‘The First Cold War’ is a very important book. It belongs on the bookshelf of every serious student of the subject.”
-- Ronald E. Powaski, Slavic Review, Winter 2003
“... Donald E. Davis and Eugene P. Trani have written a superb study of Wilsonian diplomacy toward Russia.”
--John M. Mulder, The Historian, June 2004
“ ... this work represents an interesting history of Russian-American relations: its original ideas, its accurate and logical exposition of the material, its serious and fundamental conclusions are of sufficient merit. Twenty years of labor lie at the base of this work.”
--V. N. Gorokhov, Russian Academy of Sciences Journal of Modern and Contemporary History, March–April, 2004
“The Presidency of Warren G. Harding”
Chosen by Book magazine in its September 2000 feature, “President and Accounted For,” as the “standout volume” on president Warren G. Harding.
“Impressive for its comprehensiveness, restraint, and balanced viewpoint. The authors have succeeded admirably in making the Harding administration intelligible.”
--History: Reviews of New Books
“Judicious and readable. This is the best balanced portrait of Harding’s administration available, the first to bring out the true significance of the role of Herbert Hoover in these years.”
--John Y. Simon, editor of “The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant”
“The authors are to be commended for keeping Harding’s personal peccadilloes and the scandals in the proper perspective. Their style is straightforward and clear and the bibliographical essay is excellent.”
--American Historical Review
“This is the finest synthesis on the Harding presidency, beautifully written and cogently argued.”
--Ohio History