This book s unique combination of case studies and commentaries provides the basis for a systematic discussion of the role of individual leaders and complex institutions in U S foreign policy making The case studies present routine and urgent controversial and consensus driven decisions in nine presidential administrations from Harry Truman s decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan in 1945 to George W Bush s responses to international terrorism in the wake of 9 11 Each chapter includes essential background information a chronology of events and primary source documents Through all these elements even students with little or no background in history will gain a new understanding of how presidents institutions and issues all shape American foreign policy