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National Insecurity

American Leadership in an Age of Fear

Contributors

By David Rothkopf

Formats and Prices

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$25.99

Price

$33.99 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. Trade Paperback $25.99 $33.99 CAD
  2. ebook $12.99 $16.99 CAD

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around April 26, 2016. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

In the wake of 9/11, America and its people have experienced a sense of vulnerability unprecedented in the nation’s recent history. Buffeted by challenges from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the financial crisis, from Washington dysfunction to the rise of China and the dawn of the era of cyber warfare, two very different presidents and their advisors have struggled to cope with a relentless array of new threats.

You may think you know the story. But in National Insecurity, David Rothkopf offers an entirely new perspective into the hidden struggles, the surprising triumphs, and the shocking failures of those charged with leading the United States through one of the most difficult periods in its history. Thanks to his extraordinary access, Rothkopf provides fresh insights drawing on more than one hundred exclusive interviews with the key players who shaped this era.

At its core, National Insecurity is the gripping story of a superpower in crisis, seeking to adapt to a rapidly changing world, sometimes showing inspiring resilience — but often undone by the human flaws of those at the top, the mismanagement of its own system, the temptation to concentrate too much power within the hands of too few in the White House itself, and an unwillingness to draw the right lessons from the recent past. Nonetheless, within that story are unmistakable clues to a way forward that can help restore American leadership.

  • "An inside look at how foreign policy was made under the two presidents since 9/11...the real star of the book, the übershaper of everything, is this 'age of fear' that so warped our institutions and policy priorities. Will it ever go away or will bin Laden be forever the gift that keeps on giving?" —Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times

    "An important book." –Fareed Zakaria, CNN (Fareed Zakaria GPS Book of the Week selection)

    “Many books have been written about America's response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks; few are as insightful, as compelling or as useful as National Insecurity.” –Washington Post

    "Rothkopf, the preeminent historian and analyst of the crucially important and usually misunderstood National Security Council (NSC), argues that, 'It is not strategy to simply undo the mistakes of the recent past.'" —Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic

On Sale
Apr 26, 2016
Page Count
512 pages
Publisher
PublicAffairs
ISBN-13
9781610396332

David Rothkopf

About the Author

David J. Rothkopf  is a professor of international relations, political scientist and journalist. He is the founder and CEO of The Rothkopf Group, a visiting professor at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of The Great Questions of Tomorrow, National Insecurity: American Leadership in an Age of Fear​, and most recently, Traitor: A History of American Betrayal from Benedict Arnold to Donald Trump. He is also the podcast host of Deep State Radio. 

Learn more about this author