A sad look at the way that America has backed itself into a corner in social and foreign policy.

pretty chilling, certainly well written and worth your time. ( )

Berman's depressing indictment of contemporary American culture and empire may be somewhat overstated but is nonetheless largely valid. Note how, since this book was written, Obama has had to bow to the wishes of the military and the "defense" industry. Until I read this book, I was unaware of the argument that it was the floating of international currency exchange rates in 1971 (the abandonment of the Brettin Woods system) that has done so much to cause greater inequality between rich and poor, and I was unaware that Keynes had anticipated such results if exchange rates were floated.
Berman is very good at succinctly explaining the basic reasons for the cultural clash between the Islamic world and the West, and especially America. Highly recommended! ( )

Notes
Depressing indictment of America's current society. Well-written and compelling, although obviously exaggerated and at times the facts seemed a bit strained.

His basic contention is that the US is going to hell in a handbasket, the American people are oblivious to it, and there is no hope. China will probably win, but it will be the hollow victory of a recast Americanism, at least as shallow and meaningless as the US.

He prefers a European work life balance, but suspects that this is only possible through reliance upon an imported class of guest workers who are functionally slaves (hard to disagree with).