At the start of his administration John F. Kennedy launched a personal policy initiative to court African nationalist leaders. This policy was designed to improve U.S.-African relations and constituted a dramatic change in the direction of U.S. foreign relations. The Kennedy administration believed that the Cold War could be won or lost depending upon whether Washington or Moscow won the hearts and minds of the Third World. Africa was particularly important because a wave of independence saw nineteen newly independent African states admitted into the United Nations during 1960-61. By 1962, 31 of the UN's 110 member states were from the African continent, and both Washington and Moscow sought to add these countries to their respective voting bloc. For Kennedy, the Cold War only amplified the need for a strong U.S. policy towards Africa-but did not create it. The Kennedy administration feared that American neglect of the newly decolonized countries of the world would result in the rise of anti-Americanism and for this reason needed to be addressed irrespective of the Cold War. For this reason, Kennedy devoted more time and effort toward relations with Africa than any other American president. By making an in-depth examination of Kennedy's attempt to court African nationalist leaders, Betting on the Africans adds an important chapter to the historiography of John F. Kennedy's Cold War strategy by showing how through the use of personal diplomacy JFK realigned United States policy towards Africa and to a large extent won the sympathies of its people while at the same time alienating more traditional allies.

Mount Rainier rises 14,410 feet above sea level and can be seen on any given day by over three million people and from over 100 miles away. It is America's fifth national park, established in 1899. The mountain is an active but currently dormant volcano. With 25 named glaciers, 50 smaller unnamed glaciers, and numerous perennial snowfields, Mount Rainier boasts the largest glacier system in the continental United States. In addition to the glacier zone, the park has alpine and subalpine forest and subtropical rain forest. Each zone has its own unique ecology of plants and animals. The vistas of and from the mountain are some of the most spectacular in all of the park system.