The Forging of the American Empire: From the Revolution to Vietnam: A History of American Imperialism [Hardcover]

Sidney Lens (Author), Howard Zinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 20, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0745321011 | ISBN-13: 978-0745321011

From Mexico to Vietnam, from Nicaragua to Lebanon, and more recently to Kosovo, East Timor and now Iraq, the United States has intervened in the affairs of other nations. Yet American leaders continue to promote the myth that America is benevolent and peace-loving, and involves itself in conflicts only to defend the rights of others; excesses and cruelties, though sometimes admitted, usually are regarded as momentary aberrations.This classic book is the first truly comprehensive history of American imperialism. Now fully updated, and featuring a new introduction by Howard Zinn, it is a must-read for all students and scholars of American history. Renowned author Sidney Lens shows how the United States, from the time it gained its own independence, has used every available means - political, economic, and military - to dominate other nations.Lens presents a powerful argument, meticulously pieced together from a huge array of sources, to prove that imperialism is an inevitable consequence of the U.S. economic system. Surveying the pressures, external and internal, on the United States today, he concludes that like any other empire, the reign of the U.S. will end -- and he examines how this time of reckoning may come about.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

During the 1960s Sidney Lens, trade unionist, writer and dissident, avidly protested against the trial of the Chicago Eight as part of the ‘Committee to Defend the Conspiracy’ with, amongst others, Noam Chomsky, Susan Sontag and Norman Mailer. He also contributed significantly to the organisation of Anti-War marches held in Washington DC and San Francisco in 1969, protesting against the Vietnam War. Sidney Lens has written thirteen books. The Forging of the American Empire was originally published by Apollo Editions in 1974.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 472 pages
• Publisher: Pluto Press (June 20, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745321011
• ISBN-13: 978-0745321011
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,545,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye-opening, April 1, 2005

By 

PAUL DAMATO (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Forging of the American Empire: From the Revolution to Vietnam: A History of Ameri (Human Security) (Paperback)

For all those folks who loved Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States, this is a great companion piece. Written toward the end of the Vietnam War, It is nothing short of the most comprehensive history of America's adventure's abroad ever written, starting with the conquest of the continent and moving on to the birth of the United States as a world power, and finishing off with the Cold War and the US entry in Vietnam. Along the way it debunks a lot of myths. I think that any activists who is trying to figure out why the U.S. does what it does overseas can profitably start with Lens.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why does America keep going to war?, April 8, 2005

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John Green (Hayward CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Forging of the American Empire: From the Revolution to Vietnam: A History of Ameri (Human Security) (Paperback)

Why is America the sole superpower in the world today? Sidney Lens' book helps the reader answer this question, by looking at the history of the United States from the colonial era through the Cold War and Vietnam.

At the heart of U.S. foreign policy lays a desire for American supremacy over the world-this much is painfully clear today in light of the Iraq war. But Lens traces this thread back to the founding of America, taking a critical look at the territorial expansion of the U.S. on native lands, the occupation of Cuba and the Philippines, the "open door" economic policy in Asia and the war profiteering during both world wars.

Whether it's the Spanish-American war or the Cold War, readers can see many reflections of the past in the actions of governments today. "The Forging of the American Empire" is no mere historical narrative, it's a chronicle written so that we can understand what drives the present era of wars and globalization.

Lens' radical, materialist approach to the history of the United States is refreshing, cogent and comprehensive. It does an excellent job explaining foreign policy, but this leaves little room for domestic affairs and opposition to U.S. imperialism. I recommend checking out Howard Zinn's book alongside this one, for anyone who really wants to understand why America goes to war or bullies weaker nations.

(This is a reprint of the classic Vietnam War-era text that Lens wrote to help guide his fellow antiwar activists in a previous generation. Howard Zinn's introduction updates the book through 2003.)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If I Were Giving Pres. Obama a Book..., April 20, 2009

By 

Giordano Bruno - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Forging of the American Empire: From the Revolution to Vietnam: A History of Ameri (Human Security) (Paperback)

... to be read alongside the one given him by Hugo Chavez, it might well be this classic account of "Manifest Destiny" and American hegemonism in Latin America. It tells a large part of the same uncomfortable story as Eduardo Galeano's "Open Veins", but from the 'inside' of American foreign policy, both that of the federal government and that of the economic powers which have played easily as large a role as the State Department.

This is a fiercely critical and admittedly one-sided book, a portrayal of the USA as an inveterately expansionist nation, a 'greedy' neighbor and a bully. The portrayal is accurate. I hasten to add that it's not the whole story of America; there are many reasons to be proud of this country and many accomplishments, foreign and domestic, that justify patriotism. Unfortunately, there is very little to be proud of in America's history of conduct toward Latin America, from its early reluctance to support the struggle for liberation from Spain and France of its southern colonial neighbors, to its eternally shameful support for Pinochet and the Nicaraguan "contras." If Lens has written an 'anti-American' book, it would at least behove Americans to be as knowledgeable as he is about the sorry events he reports.

The indigenous "Indian" peoples, Canada, Mexico, and Cuba all suffered the largest consequences of American expansionism in the 19th Century. Lens recounts both the rhetoric and the actions of Manifest Destiny from Jefferson to McKinley in the first half of his book. Beginning with chapter 11 - Subduing the Banana Republics - he castigates the huge leap in imperialism during the administrations of Republican Theodore Roosevelt and Democrat Woodrow Wilson. According to Lens, the precedents TR and WW set continued to dominate American policy toward Latin America right through the time of his writing (in 1974). I doubt that he would find much change if he were to write an update of policies from Nixon and Carter to Clinton and Bush II. Above all, this is not a partisan book; neither major party earns much respect from Sidney Lens.

Is Lens unfair? Is he just an unrepentant Leftist tearing down our beloved republic? I suggest that you read the book before offering any ideological condemnations of it.