Melvyn Paul Leffler (born May 31, 1945) is an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and educator, currently Edward Stettinius Professor of History at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. He is the winner of numerous awards, including the Bancroft Prize for his book ''A Preponderance of Power: National Security, the Truman Administration and the Cold War'', and the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...

’s George Louis Beer Prize for his book ''For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War.''

Life

The son of businessman Louis and Mollie Leffler, he married historian Phyllis Koran on September 1, 1968; they have one daughter, Sarah Ann and one son, Elliot.

Education

Leffler received a BS from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1966, and a PhD from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in 1972.

Career

Leffler taught at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

as assistant professor in 1972 to 1977, and associate professor of history in 1977 to 2002. He was chairman of the department of history and dean of the college and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at the

from 1997 to 2001. In 1994, he was president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations. He was Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professor of American History at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

from 2002 to 2003. He currently teaches at the University of Virginia as a professor of history and is a scholar of the Miller Center. Books he has authored or edited include the following: ''Safeguarding Democratic Capitalism: U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security, 1920-2015'' (Princeton University Press, 2017); ''The Cambridge History of the Cold War'' (3 vols.; Cambridge University Press, 2010); and ''The Cold War: An International History'' (2nd ed.; Routledge, 2005). In 2014, the University of Virginia gave him its Thomas Jefferson Award for excellence in scholarship. The Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations honored him in 2012 with its Laura and Norman Graebner Award for lifetime achievement and service. Leffler has served on advisory committees to the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency, particularly concerning the declassification of documents.

Awards

* 2008 George Louis Beer Prize for ''For the Soul of Mankind: the United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War'' * 2004-2005 Randolph Jennings Fellow,

United States Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American independent, nonprofit, national institute funded by the U.S. Congress and tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. See alsPDF on USIP website. It provides rese ...

* 2004-2005 Henry Kissinger Fellow,

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

* 2001-2002

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...

Fellow * 1993 Bancroft Prize for ''A Preponderance of Power: National Security, the Truman Administration and the Cold War'' * 1993 Ferrell Prize * 1993 Hoover Prizes * 1993, 1997 Norwegian Nobel Peace Institute Fellowship * 1973, 1984-85 American Council of Learned Societies, Fellowships, Grants-in-Aid * 1984-85 Lehrman Institute Fellowship

Selected publications

*''Confronting Saddam Hussein: George W. Bush and the Invasion of Iraq'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2023. * * * *
"Inside Enemy Archives: The Cold War Reopened", ''Foreign Affairs'', July/August 1996
* * * (2nd edition) * * * *

Editor

*(Co-editor with

Odd Arne Westad Odd Arne Westad FBA (born 5 January 1960) is a Norwegian historian specializing in the Cold War and contemporary East Asian history. He is the Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University, where he teaches in the Yale History ...

). *(Co-editor with Jeffrey W. Legro). *(Co-editor with David S. Painter).

References

External links

"Capsule Reviews: ''For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War''", ''Foreign Affairs'', G. John Ikenberry, November/December 2007"Capsule Reviews: ''A Preponderance Of Power: National Security, The Truman Administration, And The Cold War''", ''Foreign Affairs'', Gaddis Smith, Spring 1992"Capsule Reviews: ''To Lead the World: After the Bush Doctrine''", ''Foreign Affairs'', Walter Russell Mead, November/December 2008
1231 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leffler, Melvyn P. 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Cornell University alumni Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni People from New York (state) Vanderbilt University faculty University of Virginia faculty Living people Bancroft Prize winners Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professors of American History 1945 births American male non-fiction writers Presidents of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations