A "Fortress America" for Ideas.

This article discusses the book "A 'Fortress America' for Ideas" by Sam Lebovic, which explores the initiatives that shaped the flow of information between the United States and the rest of the world after World War II. Lebovic argues that the optimistic vision of a globalized world was sidelined in postwar America in favor of policies that maintained American dominance. The book examines various areas, such as cultural and educational reconstruction, the birth of UNESCO, the Fulbright Program, and the quest for international "freedom of information," to illustrate how U.S. officials worked to marginalize radical visions of global order and prevent the world from changing the United States. The article highlights the book's focus on bureaucratic tangles and ideological debates, as well as the consequences of insularity and a lack of outside perspectives. [Extracted from the article]