Customer Reviews

How America Got It Right: The U.S. March to Military and Political Supremacy

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This is an unabashedly unapologetic review of America's political and military rise to the foremost prominence in the world. That being said, Alexander is more than willing to acknowledge America's faults, both great and small, like slavery and Korean war. However, he doesn't dwell on them but sees America's history as an overall steady progress in the right direction. Many of the historical facts in the book will be familiar to anyone who studied American history, but Alexander manages to bring some fresh insights. Thanks to this, the book reads like a novel, and several chapters are veritable page turners. It's a history book that is a great entertaining read as well. I highly recommend it.

This book is a tour de force examination of U.S. foreign policy as seen through the eyes of an esteemed military historian. Bevin Alexander argues persuasively that the U.S.'s bold initiatives in Iraq, Afghanistan and other theaters of the War on Terror are deeply rooted in the American experience. As it did in WW II, Alexander says, America is proving that it will go anywhere to defeat evil. Bush's assertion that the U.S. will never seek an international "permission slip" to defend our interests has its antecedents in the Senate's rejection of Wilson's League of Nations, which, Alexander says, represented a dangerous ceding of American sovereignty.

This is not a partisan tract; it's a history with practical application for today' situation. Alexander criticizes American administrations past and present for mistakes or indecision. But, he points out, on the overarching issues of foreign and military policy the U.S. has been right more often than not.

Bevin Alexander delivers a summary of America's short yet rich history that would make any patriot proud. He details our history, but also describes the motivation for the things that occured in that history thereby explaining how the American character developed over the years. He isn't afraid to point out mistakes along the way, but the overall theme is that America is good and so are our intentions.

The 'blame America first' crowd will have a field day with this, but they will find it difficult to argue with history. Alexander points out that those who feel we are imperialists simply don't have the historical record to support that contention. Yes, there are some who may feel wronged by our actions but no one can argue that America has consistently been on the side of good whenever good came under attack. Even today, it seems as though the world is incapable of confronting bad people and bad governments without America taking the lead. This is just one of many truths that Alexander points out with flavor.

All in all, this book is well worth the reader's time. It's inspiring and educational and it's a welcome rendition of American history free from one-sided criticism and hatred of our past actions.

This book offers some really interesting and accurate theories of how America, the world's whipping boy, has done all it can to save and maintain stability on our planet. Great strength comes with great responsibilities, and the US has certainly done so. We are the most powerful nation on the planet, we give more money away than anybody else, we are willing to sacrifice our young men for other people's problems, and not only that, but we are the only ones who can do it because of our democratic ideas and freedom. Just like the author describes in this book, America has had two main interests since it birth, to create the greatest democracy in the world and to protect itself from foreign interventions.
This country has been through many crises, but has always bounced back. WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam, 9/11 and now Iraq.
Having lived in Europe for 16 years, I truly believe that we are the envy of the world.
The left always complains that our country acts like an imperial power, but let's not forget that if it looks that way, it is because we need to protect our interests in order to survive.
Also, the Iraq war, well here again, the killers and terrorists have decided to take us on within our own borders by killing in a matter of 30 minutes 3,850 of our fellow citizens. We did not ask for this war, they brought it to us.
I say this book is great for four reasons, 1) it is a great history tool, 2) it allows the reader to really understand why this country has been so successful,3) why it is crucial for America to be the protector of democracy in order to help others defeat communism and tyranny 4)and why the USA is the most compassionate country on the face of the earth. And this coming from a Frenchman !!.
As the author states, "You have heard all the lies now hear the truth". So true and so well said!!
Great book, well written and very enjoyable. Highly recommended

This book's key to success was focusing on pivotal events and periods in American history, and showing how we, both as a people and our leaders, most often made the right decisions. It is not a litany of historic events or a strict chronology, and it does not dwell on historic phases that the average student of history already understands. For example, most of us know the general flow of the Civil War, and Mr. Alexander limits his discussion to public sympathies that contributed to the outcome.

Without waving the flag like a blind patriot, Mr. Alexander explains how American action - not inaction - led to beneficial results that not only expanded our power but made the world a safer and better place. He does not hold back criticism, in particular our mistaken understanding of the Chinese Communists as expansive revolutionaries; this fear was the biggest reason we became bogged down in war in Vietnam.

Whether he's focusing on innovative military tactics in the Mexican American War, or explaining the evolution of American attitudes away from isolationism and toward world leadership during and after WWI, Alexander provides key insights that made this some of the most enjoyable history I've read.

A great, quick review of major US foreign policy decisions since the founding of America in 1776. Did not agree with his conclusions on the war in Vietnam or the bashing of President Eisenhower at all. It's a quick study for those who would like to learn or refresh their memory

What's highly instructive, on reading this sharp and impartial critique of foreign policy, is not that America's foreign policy decisions are consistently excellent, but rather that it's a mixed bag. Perhaps I'm being cynical, but the title "How America Got It Right" suggests America is a savvy world player. So I was surprised to read healthy doses of criticism of past presidential decisions. So the book's cover appeals to flag-waving patriots, but the book's content offers a tough history lesson. A more accurate title might have been: "How America Is Sometimes Right And Sometimes Wrong" but this might have discouraged sales?

Bevin Alexander is an authoritative military historian. His book covers a lot of ground. He's frank, non-partisan, terse. He grades past presidents on specific decisions. Here's his assessment of recent presidential decisions:

Successes: Nixon reining in Israel after the six-day war by threatening to cut off supplies; Reagan's military build-up; Reagan's diplomacy with the Soviets; Reagan's policy leading to dismantling of the Soviet Union; Bush I's organizing multilateral effort to oust Saddam from Kuwait; Bush I's first Gulf War; Bush I's decision was to oust Saddam from Kuwait was "completely justified" according to Alexander.

Failures: Carter's granting permission to Shah of Iran to enter US for medical treatment which triggered the takeover of the US embassy in Teheran; Carter's failed Iran hostage rescue; Reagan's allowing 241 marines to be killed in Lebanon by suicide truck bomber; Reagan's allowing Arafat to escape to Tunisia despite Israeli northwards military push into Lebanon; Bush I's inaction when Balkans began disintegrating; Bush I's not pursuing Saddam after liberating Kuwait and ending first Gulf War prematurely; Clinton's "Blackhawk Down" fiasco in Somalia caused by failing to send in heavily armored troops and angering warlord Aydid; Clinton's failure to prevent genocide in Rwanda; Bush II's second Gulf war was a mistake.

Alexander shows why nations want nuclear weapons. There's a huge cost savings -- having a nuclear bomb provides freedom from attack because no non-nuclear state will attack one with atomic weaponry. So nations can reduce their conventional forces significantly and save money. He also shows how public perceptions can have a powerful effect on leaders. For example, the shelling of a marketplace in Sarajevo, in which television audiences worldwide saw innocent people being killed, prompted president Clinton to finally do something "because he saw that inaction would lower his numbers in the next poll" writes Alexander.

For me, the lesson of Alexander's excellent book is that America's foreign policy is mediocre. America's foreign policy is largely a function of presidential skill. None of America's recent presidents have had a spotless record. Most have had a mediocre record. I see this as highly troubling in a world with dangerous stateless actors struggling to get weapons of mass destruction.

Alexander's book is sharp, incisive, critical, well-written and instructive, with a somewhat misleading title, and helps confirm my understanding that a second constitutional convention is necessary.

Thomas W. Sulcer
author of "The Second Constitution of the United States"
(free on web -- google title above + sulcer)

While some of the media reviews of this book paint it to be "one-sided" or "biased" we have to remember that Bevin Alexander is simply bringing to light the facts that are so often miscontrued or outright ignored in other history books about America...first of them the now predominant "textbook" for history, Howard Zinn's People's History. I suppose you could put Zinn and Alexander together and find a common ground...but of course in Zinn's book, there is not a single source. So it is somewhat ironic that while Zinn's book is praised and adopted for the classroom use by professors, it is little more than a book of opinions and speculation whereas Alexander atleast backs up his opinions with sources and facts.

Alexander does believe in America and it is this belief which is sorely lacking in academia these days. We are hyper-critical of our nation almost to a self-destructive level and what Alexander does is to show that America is not some imperial power like Zinn or Chomsky would have you believe. We've made our share of mistakes but also have attempted to correct those mistakes and to prevent them from happening again.

The book itself is easy to read and it is neatly divided up into chapters, each dealing with a specific point in American history. It is not intended to paint America as perfect. Indeed, Bevin Alexander is harsh on our decisions, specifically regarding Vietnam and slavery. But the intent of the book is not to be a textbook but is instead intended to show that America has gotten it right more often than not.

If you are a student or a parent of a student who has been forced to read the works of Zinn or Chomsky as your textbooks, get this book to act as a much needed counterbalance.

For people who have never read a book from Brevin Alexander this would be a good place to start and from there one should explore the author's other excellecent books. This books enters us onto the American experience into world politics and domination. How it got their and why it will remain their for a long time to come. Let's not make illusions because with great power comes great responsibility and this books shows us what is the US's responsibility and what may happen if this country does not step up to this role.

If you seek peace, prepare for war. Some people may be offended by that but it is what this book tells us must be the path taken by this nation in order to survive. The author tells us the risks, why we can't count on the Europeans, why if a party gets weak on defense in this country than the worst can happen. It is understandful that those are his opinions and he could be wrong in them, once one reads the entire book though one will come out with a better idea as to why America is the only world leader left.

The book is much more than the last paragraph though, it is a consice History of the United States. From the revolution, Mexican-American War, Vietnam War, every aspect is covered in a good flowing manner. The author also lets us know of some mistakes taken by the U.S and why they must not be repeated again. Overall and excellent examination into U.S politics and world Politics concerting U.S interest.

Starting with colonial America and ending with today's omnipresent war on terror, Bevin Alexander summarizes centuries of American history in one convenient book. While some history books are plagued with details ad nauseam, often producing mountains of text that can reach over 700 pages in length (Howard Zinn's "A People's History..." comes to mind), Alexander managed to keep his narrative of American history under 300 pages long.

While most of the nation's important details are still mentioned in the book (such as the American Revolution, Louisana Purchase, westward expansion, etc.), there are several things left out from the final cut. For instance, in the beginning of the book, there is hardly any emphasis placed on the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, yet the document still stands today as the supreme law of the United States. Also lacking is the amount of attention the author gives to pre-Revolution America; this means that many events that had set a precedent to American secession from Britain are missing from the book.

All things considered, with about 250 pages to work with, Alexander delivers a respectable body of research with interesting analyses to guide the reader, as well as a complete reference guide in the appendix where readers are treated to texts from inaugural addresses, document clauses, and other important historical events.

4 of 5 stars.