Jonathan G. Utley is Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

"A concise,well-written overview of those controversial years." -Journal of American History "Utley argues that the path to war was laid in the years before 1940, when American foreign policy 'managers' could not see that their apparently moderate actions condemning Japan-from verbal protests to 'moral' embargoes-essentially precluded accommodation with Tokyo... The result was an almost classical tragedy ...succinct and compelling." -Journal of Asian Studies "Clearly and forcefully written." -American Historical Review