Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower
by Zbigniew Brzezinski
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Description
A story of wasted opportunity and squandered prestige: a critique of the last three U.S. presidents' foreign policy. Distinguished commentator on foreign policy, former National Security Adviser 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 show more 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.--From publisher description. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Carter's former National Security Advisor, discusses Presidents Bush Sr., Clinton, and Bush #43. Brzezinski remains active in strategic and international studies, and
tries to describe how each President handled the challenges as Leader of the worlds sole superpower.
The book started slowly for me, but had enough segments of interest to keep me engaged. If you're a big Bush 43 supporter, you're not likely to enjoy the book, since Brzezinski takes a dimmer view on his performance than on the others.
A surprise to me was a recognition of all the global changes and challenges faced by Bush Sr. While his term was short, I developed a heightened respect for his Presidency and for the number of international show more situations he dealt with. show less
tries to describe how each President handled the challenges as Leader of the worlds sole superpower.
The book started slowly for me, but had enough segments of interest to keep me engaged. If you're a big Bush 43 supporter, you're not likely to enjoy the book, since Brzezinski takes a dimmer view on his performance than on the others.
A surprise to me was a recognition of all the global changes and challenges faced by Bush Sr. While his term was short, I developed a heightened respect for his Presidency and for the number of international show more situations he dealt with. show less
This is a great current affairs book written by an expert in foreign policy. He is hard on all three presidents, but he is especially hard on President Bush II, saying he squandering whatever foreign political power we had left. His title, 2nd chance, is fitting for the last section of his book where he analyzes where we go from here and what the 2008 election means. Great book.
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 show more 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. --from Amazon.com show less
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 show more 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. --from Amazon.com show less
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Author Information
59+ Works 2,123 Members
Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski was born in Warsaw, Poland on March 28, 1928. He received a bachelor's degree in 1949 and a master's degree in 1950 from McGill University in Montreal and a doctorate in political science in 1953 from Harvard University. He was the national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter during the years of the Iran show more hostage crisis and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the late 1970s. He wrote numerous books during his lifetime including Ideology and Power in Soviet Politics, Power and Principle, Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower, and Strategic Vision: America and the Crisis of Global Power. He was also a professor of foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and a frequent expert commentator on PBS and ABC News. He died on May 26, 2017 at the age of 89. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Distinctions
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2007
- People/Characters
- George H. W. Bush; Bill Clinton; George W. Bush
- Important places
- USA
- Original language
- English
Classifications
- Genres
- Politics and Government, Nonfiction, History, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 327.73 — Society, government, & culture Political science International Relations: Spies North America United States
- LCC
- JZ1480 .B69 — Political Science International relations International relations Scope of international relations. Political theory. Scope of international relations with regard to
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 261
- Popularity
- 124,022
- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (3.52)
- Languages
- English, Polish, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 4
