REVIEWS

"Was there more to Cabot Lodge, Jr. than his ambassadorship to South Vietnam? There was a lot more, including his ambassadorship to the United Nations. Squarely rooted in archival research, Sean Brennan's study of Lodge and his predecessor, Warren Austin, is well written while the chapters move smoothly. The book fleshes out significant challenges that they faced during a pivotal period of the Cold War. During the fifteen years that Austin and Lodge spent in the UN, they helped the U.S. navigate a series of international crises while educating the American public on the UN. Notably, they helped to ensure that the U.S. would not fall back to isolationism, which was still advocated by some members of their own political party. Brennan also draws comparisons between Austin's and Lodge's service under different White House administrations, the different stages of their careers, and the trajectories of their political careers. I warmly recommend this book to scholars and readers interested in U.S. diplomacy, Cold War history, and the history of the UN."

― Tuan Hoang, Pepperdine University

"Sean Brennan’s Warren Austin, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and the Cold War at the United Nations, 1947-1960 takes readers to a time when creativity was a central feature of American diplomacy. Expertly researched and with a lively prose, Brennan shows how we can apply the lessons of history to the challenges of today."

― Luke Nichter, Chapman University

"Sean Brennanhas, with this book, contributed significantly to our knowledge of a key period in the history of the US relationship with, and actions in, the United Nations. Brennan examines the ambassadorial careers of Henry Cabot Lodge Jr and the lesser-known Warren Austin in a manner that will interest scholars of the UN and of the early Cold War."

― Steven Brady, George Washington University

"Sean Brennan carefully explores the contributions of two internationalist Republicans, Warren Austin and Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. during their notable service as American ambassadors to the United Nations. In the process, he sheds important light on some key episodes such as the Korean War and the Suez Crisis, and on some significant developments in American policymaking on issues such as arms control and decolonization during the initial decades of the Cold War. This insightful book will be of interest to all students of the Truman and Eisenhower foreign policies."

― Wilson Miscamble, University of Notre Dame

“This is a valuable and engrossing look at high-level diplomacy in the early years of the UN, a period in which the new international organization confronted the challenges of decolonization, the Korean War, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, and the Suez Crisis. During that tumultuous time, Warren Austin and Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., both prominent Republican internationalists, struggled to advance the mission of the UN while representing US interests. Sean Brennan’s insightful and carefully crafted study shows how Austin and Lodge, through skillful and dedicated service, overcame the skepticism of the US foreign policy establishment and the suspicions of the American public and convinced Americans that the UN was a crucial institution in international relations.”

― Marc Gallicchio, Villanova University 

"Father Fabian Flynn's passionate ministry as a writer, Army chaplain during the Second World War, and CRS director in post-war Europe offers a fascinating story of the U.S. intervention in the liberation and reconstruction of Europe. Sean Brennan's well-written account is scholarly and engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it." ― Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, Archbishop for the Military Services, USA

"The biography of American Catholic Passionist priest Fabian Flynn offers a compelling portrait of how this World War II Catholic military chaplain served in the African-European theater as well as at the Nuremberg trials. The immediate post-war era led him to combine ministerial and administrative skills to ensure cooperation among transnational military, religious, and governmental bureaucracies delivering humanitarian relief during the post-communist era into the 1960s. Sources culled by Sean Brennan from American and European government and religious archives have enabled him to craft an engaging inspirational historical narrative that speaks to scholars and the general readership." ― Robert E. Carbonneau, CP, Historian, Passionist Congregation

"It would be hard to think of a better life through which to view the great events in mid-twentieth Europe than that of Father Fabian Flynn. This feisty Boston Irish priest accompanied American GIs on the battlefields of Sicily and Normandy, served as chaplain at the Nuremburg trials, had a ringside seat for the communist takeover of Hungary, and ministered to countless refugees and migrants from his base in Austria―German expellees from the East, Axis prisoners of war, and Hungarians and Yugoslavs fleeing communist regimes. Despite debilitating health problems and less than supportive religious superiors, Father Flynn stands out as a committed opponent of totalitarian regimes and movements, who eagerly served where he was needed most." ― James R. Felak, University of Washington

"One of the most rewarding aspects of the book is the way in which Brennan effectively interweaves the personal narrative of Flynn with the broader historical context that informed his work in Europe. Anyone interested in World War II, in post-war Europe, or in more recent Catholic history would benefit by making a point to read it. At the very least, every Catholic university library should have a copy of this book on their shelves." ― American Catholic Studies (ACHS)

"The subject of Sean Brennan's scholarship was a churchman of supreme ambition with a profound sense of personal destiny who considered himself a Catholic warrior against totalitarianism. Brennan's forensic research is to be commended for bringing to light his remarkable story... that will be of interest to a wide range of readers." ― European History Quarterly

"An extremely well-researched and richly contextualized story of an important player in the rebuilding of post-World War II Europe through Flynn's work with Catholic Relief Services (CRS)... The author aptly achieves his goal by providing a very readable and engaging story of a dedicated priest whose total goal in life was to serve others. Since no monograph on Flynn exists and little work has been published on the Passionist order or CRS, this volume adds significantly to the historical literature... This monograph can be enjoyed by students of American Catholic history, but additionally by those who enjoy histories of World War II and biographical studies in general. Sean Brennan has contributed greatly to the historical record by this engaging and interesting monograph." ― Catholic Historical Review

"In Brennan's book, the reader sees much of the twentieth century's moral struggles through the eyes of one caring man." ― Church History

"This book, based on extensive archival research in Germany and the Russian Federation, is a solid contribution to the growing historiography on the Soviet occupation period in postwar eastern Germany." ― Slavic Review

"[This book] provides a wealth of information on its narrow topic." ― Lutheran Quarterly

"Brennan uses major archival collections of state and church provenance in Moscow, Berlin/Bonn, and Washington to provide multiple angles in documenting this crucial period of change. This book offers rich descriptive detail of the policy debates regarding the key issues in the church-state relationship. The Politics of Religion in Soviet-Occupied Germany makes a major contribution to the literature on church-state relations in eastern Europe and in Germany." — Robert Goeckel, State University of New York, Geneseo

"Based on extensive research in both German and Russian archives, Sean Brennan's book provides a unique perspective on relations between the churches and Communist authorities in the Soviet Occupied Zone of Germany. His detailed overview of the cat-and-mouse game that allowed the Communists to subdue their religious opponents deepens our understanding of those complex initial post-war years in Germany."  — Gary Bruce, University of Waterloo

"Brennan blends the history of parties with diplomatic, education, and cultural history to reveal how both Catholic and Protestant organizations cooperated with, then questioned, then openly criticized, and finally resisted Soviet authorities and their German counterparts in the postwar period. A cleanly written history of a gray area, this book demonstrates more than just the details of religious policy or attitudes, but offers details about inter-group relations, watersheds in German history, and the phenomenon and influence of the Soviet Occupation." — Elizabeth Morrow Clark, West Texas A&M University