Quotes from book
Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department

Dean Acheson

Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department is a memoir by US Secretary of State Dean Acheson, published by W. W. Norton in 1969, which won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for History.

Dean Acheson photo

“… the situation was still too delicate for complete candor and the ultimate truth too unformed for statement.”

Dean Acheson book Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department

Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department (1969), Principles

Dean Acheson photo

“…old inhabitants of the bureaucratic jungle like (Secretary) Hull knew that Cabinet boards and committees were paper tigers. They made a fine show in a parade but soon dissolved in the rain…After attend a few meetings (of this board), the Secretary deputized me to 'explain his absence' and substitute for him.”

Dean Acheson book Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department

Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department (1969), State Department Management, Leadership Perspectives