Short Synopsis
The United States emerged from the cold war with unprecedented power and prestige but managed to squander both in a remarkably short time. In this scholarly yet highly opinionated book, former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski examines how this came to be by offering a reasoned but unsparing assessment of the last three presidential administrations' foreign policy.

Full Synopsis
America's most distinguished commentator on foreign policy, former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, offers a reasoned but unsparing assessment of the last three presidential administrations' foreign policy. Though spanning less than two decades, these administrations cover a vitally important turning point in world history: the period in which the United States, having emerged from the cold war with unprecedented power and prestige, managed to squander both in a remarkably short time. This is a tale of decline: from the competent but conventional thinking of the first Bush administration, to the well-intentioned self-indulgence of the Clinton administration, to the mortgaging of America's future by the "suicidal statecraft" of the second Bush administration. Brzezinski concludes with a chapter on how America can regain its lost prestige. This scholarly yet highly opinionated book is sure to be both controversial and influential.

"Brilliantly provocative.... Brzezinski covers a great deal of ground with dispatch and verve.... His book is never less than exciting." ---The New York Times Book Review

"No one understands the interdependence of power and principle better than Zbigniew Brzezinski." ---Jimmy Carter

New York Times Bestseller