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The World America Made
Robert Kagan responds to those who anticipate — or even long for — a post-American world order by showing what a decline in America's influence would truly mean for the United States and the rest of the world, as the vital institutions, economies and ideals currently supported by American power wane or disappear. As Kagan notes, it has happened before: one need only consider the consequences of the breakdown of the Roman Empire and the collapse of the European order in World War I.
News and Reviews
The Insurgents
David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War
Based on secret documents, private emails, and interviews, The Insurgents is the inside story of the small group of soldier-scholars, led by General David Petraeus, who plotted to revolutionize one of the largest, oldest, and most hidebound institutions — the United States military. Their aim was to build a new Army that could fight the new kind of war in the post–Cold War age: not massive wars on vast battlefields, but "small wars" in cities and villages, against insurgents and terrorists.
News and Reviews
Distant Witness
Social Media, the Arab Spring and a Journalism Revolution
Andy Carvin had unusual access to the people and events of the Arab Spring: from NPR headquarters in DC, he built a highly active twitter community of revolutionaries, witnesses and reporters. In this blend of memoir and history, he shares stories of the Arab Spring while exploring the benefits and difficulties of reporting from a distance.
News and Reviews
End This Depression Now!
With the Great Recession well into its fourth year, New York Times economics columnist Paul Krugman asks what makes this slump so intractable. He argues that recovery could take root if politicians simply mustered the will to end this depression now.NPR Bestseller
News and Reviews
Team Of Rivals
The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
An analysis of Abraham Lincoln's political talents identifies the strengths and abilities that enabled his election and describes how he used those same abilities to rally former opponents to win the Civil War.NPR Bestseller
News and Reviews
The Terror Courts
Rough Justice at Guantanamo Bay
When the United States captured hundreds of suspected terrorists and imprisoned them at Guantanamo Bay, the detainment of these individuals was just the start of the story. The Terror Courts describes the legal, political, and moral issues that arose when Americans attempted to prosecute these men, and describes the consequences of creating a parallel system for legal justice.
News and Reviews
The Outpost
An Untold Story of American Valor
Jake Tapper investigates the history of Compound Outpost Keating, a U.S. camp in Afghanistan that was the site of a deadly Taliban attack in 2009. A Pentagon investigation later concluded that there was no reason for Outpost Keating to have been there in the first place.
News and Reviews
Avoiding Armageddon
America, India, and Pakistan to the Brink and Back
India and Pakistan will be among the most important countries in the twenty-first century. In Avoiding Armageddon, Bruce Riedel explains the challenge and the importance of successfully managing America's affairs with these two emerging powers and their toxic relationship.
News and Reviews
The Cleanest Race
How North Koreans See Themselves - and Why It Matters
North Korea analyst B.R. Myers presents a view of North Korea through the eyes of its citizens. He argues that the late Kim Jong Il guided his regime through a paranoid, race-based nationalism with roots in Japanese fascist thought.
News and Reviews
North Korea Through the Looking Glass
News and Reviews
China Airborne
In 2011, China announced its 12th Five-Year Plan, which included the commitment to spend a quarter of a trillion dollars to jump-start its aerospace industry. In China Airborne, James Fallows documents the extraordinary scale of China's project, making clear how it stands to catalyze the nation's hypergrowth and hyperurbanization, revolutionizing China in ways analogous to the building of America's transcontinental railroad in the 19th century.
News and Reviews
Drift
The Unmooring of American Military Power
In past wars, the U.S. practically dismantled its military after the troops came home. But today, says MSNBC News anchor and writer Rachel Maddow, the nation finds itself in a state of almost permanent war. Her book argues that the U.S. military has grown bloated partially because the nation is insulated from the wars its soldiers fight.NPR Bestseller
News and Reviews
Immigration Wars
Forging an American Solution
The former governor of Florida and a leading constitutional litigator share a provocative assessment of immigration. They propose solutions based on the ideas that immigration is vital to America's future and that American laws must be upheld, sharing recommendations for fixing today's practices to minimize the percentage of immigrants with illegal statuses.
News and Reviews
Out of Order
Stories From the History of the Supreme Court
The former Supreme Court justice shares stories about the history and evolution of the Supreme Court that traces the roles of key contributors while sharing the events behind important transformations. NPR Bestseller
News and Reviews
Enemies
A History of the FBI
Presents the history of the FBI's secret intelligence operations, detailing how the bureau has been used to conduct political warfare, and how it became the most powerful intelligence service in the United States.
