Ean Patrick White

Comprehensive and Concise

Revisado: 09-23-24

Overall, the author did a masterful job of providing a comprehensive overview of American foreign policy from its founding to the present, yet delivering it in an organized and concise fashion so that it kept the reader's attention throughout. On balance, the author treated the subject matter (isolationism) and the majority of historical figures and eras fairly, with the exception of the last 15 years. This is where the author could have done better to reserve his partiality toward the Obama Administration (in which he had a role, but did not disclose that role nor provide a disclaimer) and his bias against the Trump Administration. In the end, it was clear to this reader that the position he advocates (judicious restraint/retrenchment) is essentially Obama's brand of foreign policy. In that way, he tends to be an apologist for Obama. He also gave Woodrow Wilson a freer pass than he deserved. Nevertheless, I would still recommend this book to foreign policy of aficionados and national security professionals on both sides of the debate. I wholeheartedly agree with the author that a third way is needed for our present time. America has overreached and overstretched its international/global footprint, and it does not have the resources to sustain its present strategic commitments. Whereas the author suggests detaching from peripheral commitments, such as the Middle East, I would argue that America could go farther in detaching from Europe, as well, just as our founders had cautioned us over 250 years ago. But that is the subject of another book, another essay, or another paper.

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