The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism
by Andrew Bacevich
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Book Summary Information
Author: Andrew BacevichEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-04-27
ISBN: 0805090169
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Book Reviews of The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism
Book Review: A Man and Message Worth Taking Very Seriously
Summary: 5 Stars
This philosophical, but precise foreign policy manifesto is a cold, hard slap to American imperialism, selfishness and entitlement. But, unlike other books that take wide swings at America with little more than misplaced resentment and childish emotion, Bacevich scolds the citizens of America as a wise, but heartbroken father rebuking an out-of-control son.
A quick survey of the world geopolitical scene highlights America's increasingly vulnerable position as on overly-extended superpower who's frequent, often clumsy use of military force has done little to win the hearts or minds so frequently cited on PowerPoint slides in Pentagon staff meetings. Bacevich expresses his "dismay at the direction of the U.S. foreign policy since the end of the Cold War." And though he offers plenty of critiques regarding the Bush Administration's global ramblings, the thrust of his message is that the crisis extends much deeper and further back in time than a single administration.
Bacevich weaves into his narrative the teachings of American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) who "warned that what he called 'our dreams of managing history' -- born of a peculiar combination of arrogance and narcissism -- posed a potentially mortal threat to the United States." This ideology of exceptionalism combined with an ever-growing military-industrial complex have proved a toxic mix.
Few understand both the realities of this phenomena with such clarity and conviction as retired Army Colonel and West Point graduate, Andrew Bacevich. After serving twenty-three years in the Army he earned a PhD at Princeton then went on to teach at West Point, Johns Hopkins and finally Boston University. He also lost his son in Iraq. Bacevich writes, "In joining the Army, my son was following in his father's footsteps: Before he was born, I had served in Vietnam. As military officers, we shared an ironic kinship of sorts, each of us demonstrating a peculiar knack for picking the wrong war at the wrong time."
Tracing the path that got our country to its current place, he cites failures of leadership at both the political and military level, but identifies the American citizen as the ultimate navigator of the ship. In what is likely that hardest argument for readers to swallow, Bacevich says that it is our insatiable appetite for cheap consumer goods and fossil fuels combined with our penchant for debt that has led to a "tacit agreement" between the citizenry and the government - one which gives a silent nod of approval to our leaders to do whatever is necessary to keep the current culture of "free" consumption running indefinitely.
There will be people who don't like this book because of it's critical nature, but with hundreds of thousands of troops spread across the world fighting in the name of American ideals and the national debt passing $12 trillion it's both timely and necessary to hold a mirror up to ourselves as a nation and see if we like what we behold.
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