To Lead the World: American Strategy after the Bush Doctrine (Paperback)

by Melvyn P. Leffler (Editor), Jeffrey W. Legro (Editor)
Key Phrases: soft talk, illiberal democracy, flat world, United States, New York, World War (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The 13 academic and public intellectuals convened in this collection of essays on geopolitics agree on some things: the importance of American leadership; the desirability of free trade; the threats posed by global warming, Islamist radicalism and nuclear proliferation; the ineptitude, if not criminality, of Bush's foreign policy. But there are significant points of contention. Should America assert its military power independently or work through global institutions and international concerts? Should it promote democracy abroad or back stable autocracies? Is the nation-state essential or irrelevant? The contributors run the gamut from hawks like James Kurth—who wants America to be a Boss of Bosses and ruthlessly devastate its opponents—to doves like Francis Fukuyama, who endorses foreign policy as social work. In thought-provoking pieces, David Kennedy calls for a draft lottery to dispel an incipient American Caesarism facilitated by the professional military, and Niall Ferguson throws a contrarian curveball asserting the impossibility of fighting a pre-emptive war against terrorism. There's not much ideological coherence, but there is plenty of lively debate and rich food for thought. (July)
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Review

"An able and diverse set of analysts propose strategies for American leadership after the Bush years. This would make interesting reading for the next president!"--Joseph S. Nye, University Distinguished Service Professor, Harvard University and author of The Powers to Lead
"Plenty of lively debate and rich food for thought."--Publishers Weekly
"If you have to choose only one book to read on American foreign policy in 2008, this should be it. A superb group of scholars and practitioners have crystallized the basic strategic choices and policy options facing a new administration. They disagree sharply among themselves, but these are exactly the debates that Americans, and people around the world, should be having."--Anne-Marie Slaughter, co-director of Princeton Project on National Security, Princeton University
"A timely, readable and useful book, for policymakers and citizens alike. Leffler and Legro have assembled just the right thinkers, with just the right degree of diversity in their views, to address the major issues of our time and the crucial question of how the U.S. can regain its leadership of the international community."--Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution
"With U.S. foreign policy in shambles and with even more crises on the horizon, the next president has to actually read this book. The only chance of our coming out of the next several years in one piece is to have a good strategy, and these challenging essays tell the president what his/her strategic choices will be."--Leslie H. Gelb, former New York Times columnist
"Plenty of lively debate and rich food for thought."--Publishers Weekly
"If you have to choose only one book to read on American foreign policy in 2008, this should be it. A superb group of scholars and practitioners have crystallized the basic strategic choices and policy options facing a new administration. They disagree sharply among themselves, but these are exactly the debates that Americans, and people around the world, should be having."--Anne-Marie Slaughter, co-director of Princeton Project on National Security, Princeton University
"An unusually interesting and useful collection of essays on possible directions for U.S. foreign policy under new administration... [by] some of today's most important and cogent thinkers on U.S. foreign policy."--Foreign Affairs


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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195369416
• ISBN-13: 978-0195369410
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #37,835 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well compiled essays but rests much on the credence of the contributors., November 20, 2008

By	Gautam Maitra "gautam maitra" (Kolkata, India) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For some years there has been a trend towards presenting foreign relations books through a collection of essays written by eminent academicians on the subject. The result has been that such books like the present one may become good reference book for interested readers and foreign policy makers but they don't go beyond that. General readers need more lucid and interesting presentations written by any single author.

Mere works of compilation, like this one may be more scholarly in that it is the consummation of views, though different ones, of foreign policy experts but in the end the reader is left with too many alternative viewpoints to choose from. Nevertheless, it is an extremely useful book and contains valuable insights into matters of international relations and must be widely read.

Gautam Maitra
Author of 'Tracing the Eagle's Orbit: Illuminating Insights into Major US Foreign Policies Since Independence.'

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute must read about American foreign policy, October 20, 2008

By	J. Clark (Canyon Country, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I came across this book by accident and am extremely happy that I did. The subject of foreign policy wouldn't be the first thing that most people would think of when they look for some light reading; and this book is far from light reading. It is a collection of diverse ideas by 13 of America's leading academic minds on the subject that challenges the reader to open their eyes to a much larger field that will soon engulf us all, if not crush us if we don't get our act straight.
Over the course of 11 articles (some are collaborative) the authors give their take on what they feel will be some of the greatest challenges that face our country when a new administration goes to the White House in 2009. Some of will be problems that have been festering for decades others are very recent but all have been fed by the foreign policy decisions of the Bush administration after the 9/11 attacks that are collectively called the Bush Doctrine.
The well thought out arguments for and against certain actions are a joy to read because they lack political emotionality and demonstrate an adherence to facts as well as historical trends. Sometimes it's nice to hear big ideas from people who actually know what their talking about, even if I don't agree with them.

Pros:
1.) Every one of the articles offers different ideas that are stimulating and provocative.
2.) If you're looking for a book on the subject of American foreign affairs since 1945, there isn't one out there with a better pedigree
3.) Doesn't pull any punches. Some of the writers make observations that wouldn't be popular with Jane and John Q Public.

Cons:
1.) NOT A QUICK READ! You better strap yourself in for this one, but the complex future of our world demands more attention from the average citizen.
2.) I'm sure some people are going to immediately be turned off by the list of professors from Harvard, Princeton, Berkley, etc. They will instantly think that this is a hatchet job by a bunch of academic elites that are pushing some liberal agenda (which they aren't). THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT NEED TO READ THIS BOOK THE MOST! What's made clear in this book is that the future of our country depends on the engagement and literacy of our citizens. We can no longer afford to think attempt 20th century repairs on 21st century problems.