The End of an Alliance: James F. Byrnes, Roosevelt, Truman, and the Origins of the Cold War

By focusing on the intellectual and personality limitations of Byrnes and Truman and their gross mishandling of one another during the crucial first year of the Truman presidency, the author illuminates one phase of the American side of the cold war. He places primary blame on Truman for an increasingly dogmatic and inflexible policy and sees Byrnes as more victim than villain.