I can't claim to be well-versed in this genre or subject matter, but I liked this book and found it to be informative and effective at synthesizing information and communicating complex ideas in a digestible way. I would have gotten more out of it if I had more historical knowledge as reference, but I didn't have a problem keeping up with it. I thought Bacevich made good arguments and I appreciated that he didn't stray away from being honest about his own opinions. Very readable, even-handled account of how both political parties are leading the US to economic and moral ruin. Written in 2007, it focuses often on the George W. Bush administration but demonstrates that many of the present problems were already well established. Many quotable quotes. "Realism (...)implies an obligation to see the world as it actually is, not as we might like it to be. The enemy of realism is hubris..." "America doesn't need a bigger army. It needs a smaller--that is, more modest--foreign policy, one that assigns soldiers missions that are consistent with their capabilities. Modesty implies giving up on the illusions of grandeur to which the end of the Cold War and then 9/11 gave rise. It also means reining in the imperial presidents who expect the army to make good on those illusions."
great insight for the 21st from a historian with a military understanding of the world.
—melindakismelinda
Good critique of American Exceptionalism, but I wish he spent more time on solutions.
—InsanityMadness
awesome...read this one...everyone should read this...clear, well argued...
—Roni
Recommended by Rob Farwell
—Mamaof3
