A Man in a Muddle

Mr. Chester Bowles, former Governor of Connecticut and U.S. Ambassador to India and Nepal, is currently in the running for the Democratic nomination for Senator in Connecticut. He was once rumored to be Stevenson’s favorite for Secretary of State in 1956. Thus his new book, Ideas, People and Peace (Harper, $2.50 cloth, 95¢ paper), takes on a special meaning. To this reviewer it seems a rather thinly disguised political tract, centering upon foreign policy matters and pleading throughout for a change in our national “leadership.”

The principal emphasis is on “the peoples of the underdeveloped continents whose destinies are increasingly related to our own,” but the treatment covers numerous other more or less related matters. Mr. Bowles asserts that “in the last few years” (since 1952, no doubt), our foreign policies have failed to earn us “the respect and understanding of the people of the world,” have failed to provide us with an “impregnable military defense,” and have thus failed to make progress toward a “just and lasting peace.” He urges at some length the importance of winning respect and understanding from other nations.

Mr. Chester Bowles, former Governor of Connecticut and U.S. Ambassador to India and Nepal, is currently in the running for the Democratic nomination for Senator in Connecticut. He was once rumored to be Stevenson’s favorite for Secretary of State in 1956. Thus his new book, Ideas, People and Peace (Harper, $2.50 cloth, 95¢ paper), takes on a special meaning. To this reviewer it seems a rather thinly disguised political tract, centering upon foreign policy matters and pleading throughout for a change in our national “leadership.”

The principal emphasis is on “the peoples of the underdeveloped continents whose destinies are increasingly related to our own,” but the treatment covers numerous other more or less related matters. Mr. Bowles asserts that “in the last few years” (since 1952, no doubt), our foreign policies have failed to earn us “the respect and understanding of the people of the world,” have failed to provide us with an “impregnable military defense,” and have thus failed to make progress toward a “just and lasting peace.” He urges at some length the importance of winning respect and understanding from other nations.