In the Shadows of the American Century
The Rise and Decline of US Global Power
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
For a decade America’s share of the global economy has been in decline. Its diplomatic alliances are under immense strain, and any claim of moral leadership has been abandoned. America is still a colossus, possessing half the world’s manufacturing capacity, nearly half its military forces, and a formidable system of global surveillance and covert operations. But even at its peak it may have been sowing the seeds of its own destruction.
Is it realistic to rely on the global order established after World War II, or are we witnessing the changing of the guard, with China emerging as the world’s economic and military powerhouse? America clings to its superpower status, but for how much longer?
Customer Reviews
Good start, weaker ending
3.5 stars
Author
American. Professor of SE Asian History at the U. of Wisconsin at Madison. Has written extensively about the politics & history of the opioid narcotic trade, including the involvement of the CIA during the Vietnam war, which got him into a tad of trouble with officialdom. Undaunted, he published one of the first, some might say the best, post-9/11 books about the CIA torture, I mean rendition, program.
Summary
After an introductory chapter or two outlining his unsettled childhood and his track record upsetting the powers that me in the intelligence community, Prof McCoy enlightens readers in need of enlightening (like me) about Halford Mackinder and his “Geographical Pivot of History” theory from 1904, which accounts for world events over the last several hundred years, at least for some people (Prof McCoy, for instance). He goes on to explain how America became an empire and why that empire is coming to an end. Hint: China has a lot to do with it. Strangely enough for a treatise that emphasises all the bad stuff the US has done (water boarding comes to mind), neither Cheney nor Rumsfeld rates a mention, and I remain unconvinced that Zbigniew Brzezinsky and POTUS44 (i.e., the big O) were or are ‘grandmasters of the geopolitical game. With those reservations in mind, Prof McCoy’s diagnosis of the problem currently facing the US is well argued. I was less convinced by his prognosis, although I did find the chapter on space based weapons mind boggling.
Writing
Crisp, clear prose directed at educated lay readers rather than academics. Good referencing as far as I could tell.
Bottom line
Excellent start, sound middle section, but tailed off from there IMHO.