In A Cross of Iron, one of the country's most distinguished diplomatic historians provides a comprehensive account of the national security state that emerged in the first decade of the Cold War. Michael J. Hogan traces the process of state-making as it unfolded in struggles to unify the armed forces, harness science to military purposes, mobilize military manpower, control the defense budget, and distribute the cost of defense across the economy. At stake, Hogan argues, was a fundamental contest over the nation's political identity and postwar purpose. President Harry S. Truman and his successor were in the middle of this contest. According to Hogan, they tried to reconcile an older set of values with the new ideology of national security and the country's democratic traditions with its global obligations. Their efforts determined the size and shape of the national security state that finally emerged.

'[A] truly outstanding piece of original research, synthesis, and interpretation … a major contribution to the field and a 'must' read for all US historians'

Source: The American Historical Review

'Hogan's fine book drives home the point that the overall impact of the national security state was, in dollar terms and enlargement of federal power, far greater that the effect of social programs … Easily the most comprehensive and conceptually innovative study of the institutionalization of the cold war.'

Source: The Boston Book Review

'The author succeeds brilliantly in demonstrating the impact of political culture on the formation of a new American state fundamentally different from that which existed before.'

Source: Foreign Affairs

'Hogan's powerful, neo-Bryanite message shines through in the end: tough talk by American leaders led to big expenditure, and 'humanity was sacrificed on a cross of iron'.'

Source: Journal of American History