The Book Prize Index

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. Acheson explained the title: Following World War II, the US administration faced a task "just a bit less formidable than that described in the first chapter of Genesis: That was to create a world out of chaos; ours, to create half a world, a free half, out of the same material without blowing the whole to pieces in the process." The book opens with 13 chapters on Acheson's role as Assistant Secretary of State, 1941 to 1945. Chapters 14 through 27 cover his years as Under Secretary of State, 1945 to 1947. He was out of government service 1947 to 1949. The main text, chapters 28 through 75, cover his role as Secretary of State,1949 to 1953. The book provides a detailed insider account of how the State Department, emerged from its partnership with the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany and Japan. He emphasizes how the State Department, under President Harry Truman's leadership, played decisive roles in creating the international system that defined the Cold War era.

Memoir & AutobiographyMemoir & Autobiography · medium confidenceMemoir & Autobiography81 signalsLlm Classifier: Memoir & Autobiography -> Memoir & AutobiographyKeyword Classifier: American History -> American HistoryAward Category: National Book Award for History and Biography -> BiographyPresidential BiographyPresidency & Executive PowerConstitutional History

Award History

0 wins · 2 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
National Book Award for History and BiographyMajor1970FinalistSecondary source
Pulitzer Prize in HistoryMajor1970FinalistSecondary source
View all award history (2)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact. Automated checks have flagged this profile for extra review.

  1. 01 Central figures

    • Dean Acheson92%
    Show lower-confidence suggestions

    These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.

    • Harry Truman52%

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.

    This suggestion did not meet the normal display threshold and is more likely to be wrong.

    Acheson argues that the State Department, under President Harry Truman’s leadership, played decisive roles in creating the international system that defined the Cold War era.

    Model confidence 55%

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    35 / 100 academic

    Serious trade

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 78%.