Its title alludes to Winston Churchill's 1938 book Arms and the Covenant, published in the United States as While England Slept, which also examined the buildup of German power.

He then enlisted the highly influential publishing magnate Henry Luce to write the foreword,[3] and his friend Arthur Krock, former bureau chief of The New York Times, to assist in redrafting the thesis, which had originally been titled "Appeasement At Munich.

His stance furthering appeasement would eventually cause Kennedy Sr.'s removal as ambassador to the United Kingdom, and prove disastrous for his future political aspirations.

Kennedy historian and foreign relations professor Fredrik Logevall believed the book demonstrates JFK's "commitment to an unsentimental realism in international affairs".

Kennedy is telling future policy makers that "foreign threats cannot be dealt with by ignoring them or wishing them away ... they must be confronted by clearheaded and informed calculation".