Hilsman was one of the institute's most prolific book authors. Of particular note was his 1967 work "To Move a Nation: The Politics of Foreign Policy in the Administration of John F. Kennedy", which combined a theoretical political science approach with a personal memoir. It was the first book by a U.S. maker of policy to dissent on the course of the Vietnam War. "The New York Times Book Review" called it a "highly informative study of the internal and external forces that shaped much of American foreign policy" and said that "Hilsman makes many wise and perceptive comments on the politics of policy-making." "To Move a Nation" became a National Book Award finalist and has been viewed as influential. His 1971 volume, "Politics of Policy Making in Defense and Foreign Affairs: Conceptual Models and Bureaucratic Politics", was used as the textbook for his class and went through three editions.