Faith and Fear

In a groundbreaking reassessment of the long Cold War era, historian Gregory A. Daddis argues that ever since the Second World War's fateful conclusion, faith in and fear of war became central to Americans' thinking about the world around them. These inherent tensions--an unwavering trust and confidence in war coupled with a fear that nearly all national security threats, foreign or domestic, are existential ones--have shaped Americans' relationship with war that persists to the current day.

Gregory A. Daddis is Professor of History at San Diego State University, where he holds the USS Midway Chair in Modern US Military History. A retired US Army colonel, he deployed to both Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. Daddis specializes in the history of the Vietnam Wars and the Cold War era and has authored five books, including Pulp Vietnam: War and Gender in Cold War Men's Adventure Magazines and Withdrawal: Reassessing America's Final Years in Vietnam. He also has published numerous journal articles and several op-ed pieces commenting on current military affairs, including writings in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The National Interest. He is the recipient of the 2022-2023 Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award, Pembroke College, University of Oxford.