Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower

by Zbigniew Brzezinski Narrated by Dick Hill

Overview

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.

Editorial Reviews

James M. Lindsay

In his engaging and briskly argued new book, Jimmy Carter's national security adviser sees little worth emulating in the past 15 years of U.S. foreign policy. He asks how Washington has led since becoming the world's first truly global leader after the collapse of the Soviet Union. His answer? "In a word, badly."
— The Washington Post

Michiko Kakutani

In his compelling new book, Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower, Mr. Brzezinski not only assesses the short- and long-term fallout of the Iraq war, but also puts that grim situation in perspective with the tumultuous global changes that have taken place in the last two decades. He dispassionately analyzes American foreign policy as conducted by the last three presidents — George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George H. W. Bush — and he gives the reader a sobering analysis of where these leaders’ cumulative decisions have left the United States as it now searches for an exit strategy from Iraq, faces potentially explosive situations in Iran and North Korea and copes with an increasingly alienated Europe and an increasingly assertive China.
— The New York Times

Foreign Affairs

Brzezinski's latest book is a passionate polemic arguing thatU.S. foreign policy since 1989 has been deeply flawed. According to Second Chance, the errors and misjudgments of the current Bush administration, although significantly more egregious and damaging than those of its immediate predecessors, proceed at least in part from some common assumptions about the United States' world role following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Brzezinski's ability to see that the problems did not start with the current Bush administration gives his analysis depth and credibility; his critiques of all three post-Cold War administrations score telling points. Yet despite it all, Brzezinski remains optimistic. There are no real alternatives to U.S. world leadership, and most major countries agree that the world still needs a stabilizing leader. That so cogent and frank a critic should find so much latent strength in the United States' international position is a remarkable and perhaps encouraging sign. In any case, Brzezinski's reputation will be further enhanced by yet another lively, sweeping, and learned tour d'horizon of a troubled world.

From the Publisher

"ÝBrzezinski's¨ analysis of East Asian realities and of the complicated U.S.-China-Japan relationship is lucid and constructive and a joy to read."

"An indisputable road map to the current geopolitical situation, and a guide on how America must conduct herself to ensure peace and stability in the future." -- Jimmy Carter

"Brzezinski's reach is breathtaking...in a masterly fashion, he takes the reader on a trip around the world in 200 pages.... A fascinating book, and a disturbing one in the best sense of the term."

"In the furor over the war on Iraq (was it justified?), the author gets back to what the debate should be about. The polemicists on both sides of this argument would be well advised to heed Mr. Brzezinski."

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

"One of the most important books on U.S. foreign policy since September 11."

"The Grand Chessboard is the book we have been waiting for: a clear-eyed, tough-minded, definitive exposition of America's strategic interests in the Post-Cold War world. A masterful synthesis of historical, geographical, and political analysis, it is geostrategic thinking in the grand tradition of Bismarck." -- Samuel P. Huntington

OCT/NOV 07 - AudioFile

A career politician and student of foreign affairs offers an analysis of the last three American presidents' policies in the globalized world after the fall of the Soviet Union. The audiobook won't interest beginners to political science, but its fresh approach, articulate style, and meticulous research can't help but tease the brains of interested intellectuals. Dick Hill adds expression to his narration by giving strong emphasis to some syllables, words, and phrases while dropping others to inaudibility. Such a loud and soft technique can work for fiction, but the loss of important words in nonfiction creates a distracting annoyance. Hill should be commended for not attempting the author's Polish accent as it might have sacrificed even more words or created an inappropriate comedic effect. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170687015
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	05/15/2007
Edition description:	Unabridged

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