The Superpower Myth: The Use and Misuse of American Might

by Nancy Soderberg

Book Overview

For eight years, Nancy Soderberg served with distinction and creativity at the highest levels of American government. She is uniquely positioned to explain how the world works in this new era-and when it's in danger of breaking down.
-Dr. Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State

Are there limits to American power? The neoconservative brain trust behind the Bush administration's foreign policy doesn't seem to recognize any. For the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 047178964X
• ISBN13: 9780471789642
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Trade Paper Press
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A must read for responsible Americans

This work is a must read for reponsible and interested Americans. We need to know what role the U.S. can and should play in international affairs, particularly since the U.S. is the only economic, military, naval, and political superpower. This role is unprecedented in world history and while it can be the source of great promise for the U.S., it can also be the cause of great suspicion. Despite what we learn from news sources and talking heads, many issues are complex. Ms. Soderberg makes them approachable and provides insights into how elected leaders and experts in foreign policy approach, or should approach, issues. For a reader who would like to know just what the issues are with North Korea, global warming, terrorism, Iraq, and the Middle East, Ms. Soderberg provides a concise and understandable starting point. This book should be highly recommended to friends who are willing to ask questions instead of just accepting pablum from political spin doctors.

Foreign Policy at Work

Forget the partisan diatribes; what really makes this book a fascinating and compelling read is the level of detail and dramatic realism of the daily world of passionate people taking ideology from policy to action. This is a thriller. Whenever you get people who care deeply about their country and how we relate to the rest of the world, you risk offending the isolationists. It's a risk I'm glad the author took.

Better than Bob Woodward

In this compelling book, Soderberg takes us behind the scenes of the White House in a unique way: she provides detailed factual information about America's foreign policy with perceptive insight into the personalities of the key players. Readers will begin to undertand that momentous decisions are not only the result of the events, but also the consequence of egos, various temperments, and the group dynamic. For years, those who want to go behind the White House curtain have relied on Washington Post Reporter Bob Woodward. While Woodward has enticed us with behind-the-scene books about Washington, he relies on interviews; Ms. Soderberg is actually present in White House and therefore provides more concrete details in her reporting. She also has a much more in depth undertanding of the geo-political environment than does Woodward. The fact that Woodward's books are quote objective is irrelevant; Soderberg makes clear her political leanings. While Soderberg's "Superpower Myth" is by no means a quick read, it is one well worth the time.

Compelling, insightful, and invaluable

Beyond providing fascinating and colorful stories about her candid conversations with the President of the United States--tales to which we would otherwise have little access--Ms. Soderberg's book offers us a timely, balanced evaluation of US foreign policy. Commenting with candor on her experiences in the Clinton White House, Ms. Soderberg thoughtfully explores the difficult task faced by leaders of all political affiliations in their eternal and universal attempt to balance great power with responsibility. This is a book that should be read by students, diplomats, and EVERYONE who enjoys watching "The West Wing." I especially enjoyed how each chapter is devoted to a different issue (Africa, Iraq, etc.). This book is immensely readable and interesting, and I am very proud that in our open American society, we have the freedom to indulge in such honest self-exploration.

What the Bushies don't get and don't want you to know

Bush was fortunate to have 9/11 on his watch, which he turned into a platform for his war of lies in Iraq, his heinous approval of torture and Kafka-esque dententions, and his attack on the most basic human rights in the U.S and abroad. Bush was fortunate that Arafat died on his watch so he could take credit for the latest attempts at peace in Israel, which he had nothing to do with. He was fortunate to have the former prime minister of Lebanon blown up on his watch so he could claim it was in his war in Iraq that led to the ouster of the Syrian puppet regime, not the Lebanese people's outrage at the assassination. What he has not taken credit for are all his foreign policy mistakes--or "catastrophic successes," to use his phrase--which have led to warlord rule in Afghanistan, the soon-to-be Iranian puppet state of Iraq, the increasing nuclear threat from Iran and North Korea, and the general loathing of the US the world over, all of which could have been avoided had Bush and his Neocon backers read a book such as Soderberg's SUPERPOWER MYTH and followed its advice.