America And The World In The Age Of Terror

Momentous events have a way of connecting individuals both to history and to one another. So it was on September 11. Even before more than 4000 people died in less than two hours, there were farewell messages from the sky. In their last minutes, doomed passengers used cell phones to reach loved ones. A short time later, office workers trapped high in the burning towers called spouses, children, parents. Never had so many had the means to say good-bye. During the hours afterward, the survivors scrambled to make contact with family and friends. "Are you all right?" they asked. As the enormity of it all began to sink in, the question hanging in the air was, Were we all right? Since September 11, many have noted a humbling irony: the more time we'd spent in the old world and the better we thought we understood its organizing principles, the less ready we were for the new one. Suddenly, familiar terms and concepts were inadequate, starting with the word terrorism itself. The dictionary defines it as violence, particularly against civilians, carried out for a political purpose. September 11 certainly qualified. But American's earlier encounters with terrorism neither anticipated nor encompassed this new manifestation. Commentators instantly evoked Pearl Harbor, that other bolt-from-the-blue raid, sixty years before, as the closest thing to a precedent. But there really was none. This was something new under the sun.

A biting critique of the American political and cultural scene dating back to the conservative backlash of the Reagan presidency. World, Beware! analyzes three major forces that have coalesced to produce the triumphalist policies that now dominate U.S. politics: the corporate elite, the neoconservative intelligentsia, and the fundamentalist churches.

September 11 marked the beginning of a new era--an age of terror in which counter-terrorism will be one of the highest priorities of national governments and international institutions. How we proceed in this new war depends in large measure on the answer to a prior question: what exactly happened here and why? In The Age of Terror, eight leading historians and policymakers address this question and examine the considerations and objectives of policy decisions in post-September 11 America. Co-published with the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization

A wide-ranging anthology of primary texts in American foreign relations—now expanded to include documents from the Trump years to today How should America wield its power beyond its borders? Should it follow grand principles or act on narrow self-interest? Should it work in concert with other nations or avoid entangling alliances? America in the World captures the voices and viewpoints of some of the most provocative, eloquent, and influential people who participated in these and other momentous debates. Now fully revised and updated, this anthology brings together primary texts spanning a century and a half of U.S. foreign relations, illuminating how Americans have been arguing about the nation’s role in the world since its emergence as a world power in the late nineteenth century. Features more than 250 primary-source documents, reflecting an extraordinary range of views Includes two new chapters on the Trump years and the return of great power rivalries under Biden Sweeps broadly from the Gilded Age to emerging global challenges such as COVID-19 Shares the perspectives of presidents, secretaries of state, and generals as well as those of poets, songwriters, clergy, newspaper columnists, and novelists Also includes non-American perspectives on U.S. power

A one-of-a-kind anthology of primary texts in American foreign relations How should America wield its enormous power beyond its borders? Should it adhere to grand principles or act on narrow self-interest? Should it partner with other nations or avoid entangling alliances? Americans have been grappling with questions like these throughout the nation's history, and especially since the emergence of the United States as a major world power in the late nineteenth century. America in the World illuminates this history by capturing the diverse voices and viewpoints of some of the most colorful and eloquent people who participated in these momentous debates. Spanning the era from the Gilded Age to the Obama years, this unique reader collects more than two hundred documents—everything from presidential addresses and diplomatic cables to political cartoons and song lyrics. It encompasses various phases of American diplomatic history that are typically treated separately, such as the First World War, the Cold War, and 9/11. The book presents the perspectives of elite policymakers—presidents, secretaries of state, generals, and diplomats—alongside those of other kinds of Americans, such as newspaper columnists, clergymen, songwriters, poets, and novelists. It also features numerous documents from other countries, illustrating how foreigners viewed America’s role in the world. Ideal for classroom use, America in the World sheds light on the complex interplay of political, economic, ideological, and cultural factors underlying the exercise of American power on the global stage. Includes more than two hundred documents from the late nineteenth century to today Looks at everything from presidential addresses to political cartoons and song lyrics Presents diverse perspectives, from elite policymakers to clergymen and novelists Features documents from outside the United States, illustrating how people in other countries viewed America’s role in the world

A New York Times Critics’ Top Book of 2021 "An impressive combination of diligence and verve, deploying Ackerman’s deep stores of knowledge as a national security journalist to full effect. The result is a narrative of the last 20 years that is upsetting, discerning and brilliantly argued." —The New York Times "One of the most illuminating books to come out of the Trump era." —New York Magazine An examination of the profound impact that the War on Terror had in pushing American politics and society in an authoritarian direction For an entire generation, at home and abroad, the United States has waged an endless conflict known as the War on Terror. In addition to multiple ground wars, the era pioneered drone strikes and industrial-scale digital surveillance; weakened the rule of law through indefinite detentions; sanctioned torture; and manipulated the truth about it all. These conflicts have yielded neither peace nor victory, but they have transformed America. What began as the persecution of Muslims and immigrants has become a normalized feature of American politics and national security, expanding the possibilities for applying similar or worse measures against other targets at home, as the summer of 2020 showed. A politically divided and economically destabilized country turned the War on Terror into a cultural—and then a tribal—struggle. It began on the ideological frontiers of the Republican Party before expanding to conquer the GOP, often with the acquiescence of the Democratic Party. Today’s nativist resurgence walked through a door opened by the 9/11 era. And that door remains open. Reign of Terror shows how these developments created an opportunity for American authoritarianism and gave rise to Donald Trump. It shows that Barack Obama squandered an opportunity to dismantle the War on Terror after killing Osama bin Laden. By the end of his tenure, the war had metastasized into a bitter, broader cultural struggle in search of a demagogue like Trump to lead it. Reign of Terror is a pathbreaking and definitive union of journalism and intellectual history with the power to transform how America understands its national security policies and their catastrophic impact on civic life.

Examines the 1920 bombing of Wall Street in which thirty-nine people died and hundreds were injured, with details on the suspects, victims, investigators, and the four year manhunt for the perpetrators.