Probably the name Grand Rapids carries little resonance for readers outside the state of Michigan. Within Michigan, the city is well known for its predominantly Dutch population. As a local adage has it, “If you’re not Dutch, you’re not much.” Both Arthur Vandenberg and his biographer, Hendrik “Hank” Meijer, the author of the superb new Arthur Vandenberg: The Man in the Middle of the American Century, are products of that Michigan community. Meijer, besides being a biographer, is the ceo of Meijer Stores, a popular retail chain. The Grand Rapids Dutch are known for their industriousness, civic-mindedness, common sense, and thriftiness; until 1986 Meijer’s stores were called Meijer’s Thrifty Acres. Arthur Vandenberg’s down-to-earth Dutch hard-headedness helped him influence American foreign policy both in the lead-up to World War II and afterwards, when the country was in danger of getting carried away by the wave of idealism and war-weariness that blinded many to the nature of Stalin and Soviet Communism.
One of the key figures in American political life in those crucial years.
The subtitle of Meijer’s book is well worded. Vandenberg, a U.S. Senator from 1928 to 1951, was a Midwesterner who occupied the middle of the political spectrum and was perennially mentioned as a potential presidential candidate. Starting off as isolationist, his views evolved into an enthusiastic embrace of international engagement. At key moments from World War IIto the Cold War, he acted as an arbitrator between Republicans and Democrats. Before the war,