American Grit: What It Will Take to Survive and Win in the 21st Century [Hardcover]

Tony Blankley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 23, 2008

In his conservative manifesto, "New York Times" bestselling author Blankley believes that Americans need to toughen up--personally, culturally, and as a national fighting force--if the country is to survive the unprecedented threat from Islamist assault.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Tough Times Call for Tough Action

In American Grit, nationally syndicated columnist Tony Blankley warns that the administration of Barack Obama is a potential disaster at a dangerous time for America.

Challenging Americans to recapture the spirit of sacrifice that has historically characterized our nation, Blankley demonstrates how Obama's agenda, with its emphasis on environmental sensitivity, military retreat, and the diminution of executive branch powers, promotes national weakness as a righteous ideal. In contrast, Blankley puts forward his own nationalist program based on toughness, resoluteness, and grit--traditional American values totally absent from Obama's agenda. In this passionate, hard-hitting book, Blankley shows:

* How Obama's plan for national service is a weak substitute for what America really needs--a full-on military draft
* How Obama's infatuation with alternative energy will damage America's national interests
* Why we need stricter laws to prevent the media from compromising our national security
* Why the office of the presidency, contrary to popular belief, has not gained enough power since the September 11 attacks
* How we can craft a successful foreign policy that avoids the mistakes of both the liberals and the neo-cons
* How our war effort in Iraq was undermined by effective enemy propaganda--and what we can do about it
* Why education reform under President Obama will fail to address one of the biggest problems in our education system: the failure to teach patriotism

Filled with solutions to problems ranging from the detention of enemy combatants to dealing with aggressive petro-states like Russia, Venezuela, and Iran, American Grit demonstrates how this country can emerge from its current domestic and military challenges as a stronger, more unified, and more tenacious nation--and why under President Obama, it won't.

From the Back Cover

Praise for American Grit

"Tony Blankley has long been one of America's most trenchant conservative commentators and thinkers. In American Grit, he provides conservatives--and Americans generally--his wise thoughts on where we should be going in the future."
--Michael Barone, U.S. News & World Report senior writer and American Enterprise Institute resident fellow

"Egged on by new leaders promising the same discredited liberal statism that fails time and again, too many Americans line up at the trough, asking what their country can do for them. In a searing ode to America's greatness, Tony Blankley reminds us that the real question is what we can do for our country. American Grit is a clarion call to a new nationalism: a fearless summons exhorting citizens to elevate love of country over love of self. That prescription, and no other, will ensure that our union remains an unparalleled beacon of freedom, tough enough to face down the tyrannical designs of radical Islam and strong enough to rebuild the economic prosperity that enables America to lead a troubled world."
--Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review Legal-Affairs Editor and author of the national bestseller, Willful Blindness: A Memoir of the Jihad

"Tony Blankley brilliantly lays out a spot-on list of the dire challenges that threaten America's future. From our short-handed military to our energy dependence on foreign adversaries, from destructive educational dogmas to the media's propensity for revealing classified information--we ignore these problems at our peril. Tony presents us with solutions. A must read!"
--Lieutenant General Thomas G. McInerney (Ret.), former assistant vice chief of staff, U.S. Air Force

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 215 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing (December 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596985194
• ISBN-13: 978-1596985193
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #752,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can the world afford for America to fail? A call to action!, January 26, 2009

By 

A. Richert (Saint Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Grit: What It Will Take to Survive and Win in the 21st Century (Hardcover)

Mr. Tony Blankley's American Grit provides a grim reminder of the perilous situation America finds itself in the early 21st century. It also portrays the danger the rest of the world faces if America continues to pursue policies that weaken it and therefore would lead to a far more dangerous world than many of us even want to begin to contemplate.

American Grit is a short 188 page read that packs a lot of thought provoking information into a small book. For example, Mr. Blankley's case to bring back the draft was very well put together and well reasoned. In the past I have dismissed bringing back the draft as either a naïve idea or simply an idea that was brought forth by people that simply wanted to embarrass or hurt former President Bush. Mr. Blankley's argument however has made me think I need to reconsider my previous stance.

The book is broken into the following, somewhat self explanatory, chapters.

1. The Case for a New American Nationalism
2. Bring Back the Draft
3. America Held Hostage
4. Making America Energy Independent
5. In Praise of Censorship
6. A Law Code for Wartime
7. Putting America's Interests First
8. Broadcasting Liberty
9. Back to Basics: Reading Writing and ROTC
10. Conclusion: The Road Ahead

Besides the draft chapter, I found the chapters on censorship and the Back to Basics chapter extremely eye opening. While I understood some of the policies enacted during the Civil War, WWI and WWII, Mr. Blankley gives some astonishing facts that compare starkly with how we are prosecuting the current War of Terror, which I believe should be termed the War on Islamo-Fascism. The Back to Basics chapter on our education system and the lack of patriotism was frightening. In a short half a century, how and what our children are taught has been turned upside down. If this trend continues I believe we will eventually become a nation truly in decline.

American Grit is a book that would be beneficial to the left, the right and the middle in this country. It's a call to action to put America back on the appropriate path of what is right for America.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You don't need to agree with Blankley to benefit from reading his book, March 5, 2009

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Grit: What It Will Take to Survive and Win in the 21st Century (Hardcover)

I always enjoy Tony Blankley's commentary and analysis. He immigrated to America and approaches his citizenship and our country's values with an interesting perspective that can enrich the views of those of us who are native born. When I was a young man I lived for two years in Queensland, Australia and those years abroad forever changed my perspective of what it means to be an American and how we are viewed around the world. Like Blankley, I am a Conservative before I am a Republican. Of course, in this book Blankley rejects even the title of Conservative, Libertarian, Neo-Conservative, Neo-Con (an epithet from the Left), Paleo-Con, or any other already defined group. He calls himself an American Nationalist. That is, he wants policies that make America stronger rather than the perfecting of any abstract philosophy. He sees our times as far too troubled for the niceties of abstractions and wants practical solutions that address the most serious issues we face. He makes his case for this approach in Chapter 1.

He advocates bringing back the draft less because of military needs, although he is for a larger military, but to foster the kind of shared values and culture fostered by the near universal service the World War II generation experienced. He believes America will benefit if more of us sacrifice for her and become invested in her protection.

Like many of us he also recognizes the vulnerabilities we face because of our dependence on imported oil. He wisely exposes the ridiculous promises made on behalf of "alternative energies" and the political agenda behind the global warming alarmist rants. Blankley advocates a sound energy program of more drilling, more nuclear, and more coal. Personally, I think we should make almost all of our electricity from nuclear power.

Blankley also wants a war time censorship akin to what we had in wars past. He doesn't want the New York Times or anyone else exposing state secrets and compromising intelligence programs that have no real public benefit except furthering the paper's left-wing and anti-war agenda. Yes, the author recognizes how complicated the balancing act is between suppressing true sedition and quashing honest political debate and covers this in chapter six, "A Law Code for Wartime".

In chapter seven he focuses on how our national policies should be evaluated on their benefit to America rather than any other political, social, or international agenda. This includes the protection of America's sovereignty and the danger we face through use by the Left of international treaties to erode American independence and Constitutional principles.

Since Blankley's professional expertise is in communications, he has many interesting points to make in using communications more effectively in the way our government engages other governments and how we pursue the principles of Liberty around the world. The author also speaks against the conversion of our schools and universities into propaganda centers against American principles. He uses the battle of the ROTC on university campuses and the Junior ROTC in high schools to demonstrate what is being fought over. Blankley advocates a universal use of Jr. ROTC to help foster American values and counteract the mis-education of our youth.

He concludes with a short essay on the how to strike a balance between idealism and pragmatism and why our times demand that we undertake both in the furtherance of our nation's interests.

Blankley writes with a nice balance of passion and clear thinking that will engage you and encourage you to think about your own thoughts on these vital topics. Please take the time to read this book because American needs to be strengthened now and protected from those who want to remake her in the image of European principles that we fought against and threw off centuries ago. Why take them on now?

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Read, April 19, 2010

By 

Dennis Miner (Willits California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Grit: What It Will Take to Survive and Win in the 21st Century (Hardcover)

It was written prior to Obama took office and many of it's predictions have come true. It does explain where we are in these times of "change." After reading it I passed my copy on to a friend...that is the best I can say about any book.