The Age of Illusions
How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory
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Narrated by:
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Andrew Bacevich
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Rob Shapiro
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By:
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Andrew Bacevich
About this listen
A thought-provoking and penetrating account of the post-Cold war follies and delusions that culminated in the age of Donald Trump from the best-selling author of The Limits of Power.
When the Cold War ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Washington establishment felt it had prevailed in a world-historical struggle. Our side had won, a verdict that was both decisive and irreversible. For the world’s “indispensable nation”, its “sole superpower”, the future looked very bright. History, having brought the United States to the very summit of power and prestige, had validated American-style liberal democratic capitalism as universally applicable.
In the decades to come, Americans would put that claim to the test. They would embrace the promise of globalization as a source of unprecedented wealth while embarking on wide-ranging military campaigns to suppress disorder and enforce American values abroad, confident in the ability of US forces to defeat any foe. Meanwhile, they placed all their bets on the White House to deliver on the promise of their Cold War triumph: unequaled prosperity, lasting peace, and absolute freedom.
In The Age of Illusions, best-selling author Andrew Bacevich takes us from that moment of seemingly ultimate victory to the age of Trump, telling an epic tale of folly and delusion. Writing with his usual eloquence and vast knowledge, he explains how, within a quarter of a century, the United States ended up with gaping inequality, permanent war, moral confusion, and an increasingly angry and alienated population, as well, of course, as the strangest president in American history.
USA Today Best Books of the Year - 2020
©2020 Andrew J. Bacevich (P)2020 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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The world is in turmoil. From India to Turkey and from Poland to the United States, authoritarian populists have seized power. As a result democracy itself may now be at risk. Two core components of liberal democracy - individual rights and the popular will - are at war with each other. As the role of money in politics soared and important issues were taken out of public contestation, a system of "rights without democracy" took hold. Populists who rail against this say they want to return power to the people. But in practice they create a system of "democracy without rights."
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Not worth it
- By DailyShopper on 06-07-18
By: Yascha Mounk
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When the Facts Change
- Essays, 1995-2010
- By: Tony Judt
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
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In When the Facts Change, Tony Judt's widow and fellow historian Jennifer Homans has assembled an essential collection of the most important and influential pieces written in the last 15 years of Judt's life, the years in which he found his voice in the public sphere. Included are seminal essays on the full range of Judt's concerns, including Europe as an idea and in reality, before 1989 and thereafter; Israel, the Holocaust and the Jews; American hyperpower and the world after 9/11.
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Essential
- By Herman Utik on 09-19-16
By: Tony Judt
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The Stakes
- America at the Point of No Return
- By: Michael Anton
- Narrated by: Dan Crue
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Two months before the 2016 presidential election, an anonymously published essay titled "The Flight 93 Election" rallied conservatives to charge the cockpit by voting for Trump. Michael Anton, the author of that controversial viral essay, now says that the last few years have only served to prove his Flight 93 thesis: The left has become more aggressive, more vindictive, and more dangerous - and the stakes have never been higher.
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America, this is your future
- By Sarah Carnello on 09-28-20
By: Michael Anton
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What Were We Thinking
- A Brief Intellectual History of the Trump Era
- By: Carlos Lozada
- Narrated by: Christian Barillas
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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It is an irony of our age that a man who rarely reads has unleashed an onslaught of books about his tenure and his time. Dissections of the white working class. Manifestos of political resistance. Works on identity, gender, and migration. Memoirs on race and protest. Revelations of White House mayhem. Warnings over the future of conservatism, progressivism, and of American democracy itself.
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Useful book
- By Kindle Customer on 11-22-20
By: Carlos Lozada
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American Rule
- How a Nation Conquered the World but Failed Its People
- By: Jared Yates Sexton
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In American Rule, Jared Yates Sexton upends those convenient fictions by laying bare the foundational myths at the heart of our collective American imagination. From the very origins of this nation, Americans in power have abused and subjugated others; enabling that corruption are the many myths of American exceptionalism and steadfast values, which are fed to the public and repeated across generations.
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Truth
- By Laurie on 09-28-20
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Fascism
- A Warning
- By: Madeleine Albright
- Narrated by: Madeleine Albright
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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At the end of the 1980s, when the Cold War ended, many, including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, believed that democracy had triumphed politically once and for all. Yet nearly 30 years later, the direction of history no longer seems certain. A repressive and destructive force has begun to reemerge on the global stage - sweeping across Europe, parts of Asia, and the United States - that to Albright, looks very much like fascism.
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Warning!
- By JAL on 04-19-18
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We the Fallen People
- The Founders and the Future of American Democracy
- By: Robert Tracy McKenzie
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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We the Fallen People presents a close look at the ideas of human nature to be found in the history of American democratic thought. McKenzie, following C. S. Lewis, claims there are only two reasons to believe in majority rule: because we have confidence in human nature - or because we don't. The Founders subscribed to the biblical principle that humans are fallen and their virtue is always doubtful, and they wrote the US Constitution to frame a republic intended to handle our weaknesses.
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Thoughtful reflection and historical perspective, but ultimately no easy answer
- By Brandon on 03-28-23
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Had It Coming
- Rape Culture Meets #MeToo: Now What? (Sunlight Editions)
- By: Robyn Doolittle
- Narrated by: Alison J. Palmer
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Doolittle brings a personal voice to what has been a turning point for most women: the #MeToo movement and its aftermath. The world is now increasingly aware of the pervasiveness of rape culture in which powerful men got away with sexual assault and harassment for years, but Doolittle looks beyond specific cases to the big picture. The issue of "consent" figures largely: not only is the public confused about what it means, but an astounding number of legal authorities are too.
By: Robyn Doolittle
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The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents
- From Wilson to Obama
- By: Steven F. Hayward
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Academics, journalists, and popular historians agree: our greatest presidents are the ones who confronted a national crisis and mobilized the entire nation to face it. That’s the conventional wisdom. The chief executives who are celebrated in textbooks and placed in the top echelon of presidents in surveys of experts are the bold leaders - the Woodrow Wilsons and Franklin Roosevelts - who reshaped the United States in line with their grand “vision” for America. Unfortunately, along the way, these “great” presidents inevitably expanded government - and shrank our liberties.
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Really enjoyed it
- By Jkc-007 on 02-15-17
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The Paranoid Style in American Politics
- By: Richard Hofstadter, Sean Wilentz - foreward
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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This timely reissue of Richard Hofstadter's classic work on the fringe groups that influence American electoral politics offers an invaluable perspective on contemporary domestic affairs. In The Paranoid Style in American Politics, acclaimed historian Richard Hofstadter examines the competing forces in American political discourse and how fringe groups can influence - and derail - the larger agendas of a political party.
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Written in the 50s and 60s...
- By Kindle Customer on 11-06-19
By: Richard Hofstadter, and others
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The Precipice
- Neoliberalism, the Pandemic and the Urgent Need for Social Change
- By: Noam Chomsky, C.J. Polychroniou
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Precipice, Noam Chomsky sheds light into the phenomenon of Trumpism, exposes the catastrophic nature and impact of Trump's policies on people, the environment, and the planet as a whole, and captures the dynamics of the brutal class warfare launched by the masters of capital to maintain and even enhance the features of a dog-eat-dog society to the unprecedented mobilization of millions of people against neoliberal capitalism, racism, and police violence.
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Of Incalculable Importance
- By Anonymous User on 12-15-21
By: Noam Chomsky, and others
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Tomorrow, the World
- The Birth of US Global Supremacy
- By: Stephen Wertheim
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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For most of its history, the US avoided making political and military commitments that would entangle it in European-style power politics. Then, suddenly, it conceived a new role for itself as the world’s armed superpower and never looked back. In Tomorrow, the World, Wertheim traces America’s transformation to the crucible of World War II, especially in the months prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. As the Nazis conquered France, the architects of the nation’s new foreign policy came to believe that the US ought to achieve primacy in international affairs forevermore.
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Powerful punch to American dogma.
- By JLK on 06-30-21
By: Stephen Wertheim
What listeners say about The Age of Illusions
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- Hahnsolo
- 01-11-20
meticulous accessibility
Professor Bacevich pulls you into our current state of affairs and the key events that contributed to the downfall of decency and with the need for empty victory in favor of crucial progress. Without refrain he holds up a mirror to us and our forgotten history lending itself to a much needed lesson.
"peace has cost you your strength, victory has defeated you."
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- Brad
- 02-22-20
Excellent analysis of the “End of History” Era
I am a progressive so expected to be at odds with the analysis of more conservative thinker. However Bacevich stands outside of the current left/right paradigms and offers a valuable critique of the post fall of communism world. His insights into how America got it wrong and how he weaves Trumpism into the historical context is excellent. He shows how Trump is a symptom and not a cause. Outstanding and important read.
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2 people found this helpful
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- NatsFan
- 05-29-20
Sobering Bit of Analysis
It matters when a conservative military officer is disgusted with the whole status quo because he has every incentive to go along and become wealthy by the prevailing system. So this book, like many others currently available, is another argument that this country's glory days are behind us if a fundamental change doesn't happen soon.
personally speaking I doubt that it'll change.
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- Norm the Nonfiction Reader
- 02-13-20
An explanation of the rise of Trump
Andrew Bacevich presents a valuable lesson of why we have Trump. He traces our history to show why we created him.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Todd
- 09-04-20
A very good very much needed book. The best analys
If Professor Bacevich is best known as a war historian, and is probably the best known war historian, you'll probably expect this to be a book about war... And it is true what the book's dust jacket says: the primary thesis of this book is that the United States has squandered it's triumph over Russia in the cold War. Bacevich illustrates this claim amply, and it is very interesting, and sobering.
But the book is so much more: a nearly up-to-the-moment analysis of the intersection of international policy and politics in a blow-by-blow president by president rundown of the post cold war Era.
His takes on all contemporary politicians are well informed, realistic and right on point.
While this is a quick read, it carries more than its weight in valuable insights. I am pretty convinced.
Give 'The Age of Illusions' a try. I recommend it. £
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- Steve Avery
- 01-14-20
A great way to get focused on why the past matters
Great book. Explains and reviews many of the causes of our current situation. Excellent for those who wish to be as clear headed as possible going forward as informed Americans or as fellow citizens of the world.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Ryan Taylor
- 05-08-20
Best explanation of US politics I can find
Bacevich puts the last quarter century of US history, which is what I needed to understand the US today. He is not kind to Trump, but his main argument is a criticism of the world order that American promoted as after apparently “winning” the Cold War: freedom, manifest as globalized neoliberalism, militarism, consumerism and presidential power. Sorry for all the isms, he writes better. So the 2016 election was most importantly a rejection of this status quo and its array of intolerably out-of-touch candidates. It signals a deeper shift that Trump was really the first to recognize, and is only a transitory figure. What the future holds, the author leaves pretty wide open, but he recognizes climate change as the galvanizing issue of our time. Overall highly highly recommend.
Afternote: as the millennial I am, I thought his military perspective was particularly enlightening. In places his cultural observations were thin, but still accurate and approached with humility.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Abbas
- 01-24-21
Objective and to the point
Bacevich always gives a unique perspective. Tell it how it is. Critiques both sides and is fair in his opinion. The country needs honest men like him. I’ve been a fan ever since I read his book America’s war for the greater Middle East.
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- Gp Joe 21
- 08-29-24
A fantastic eye-opening book!
Liked very much the author's insight, & analysis of the state of our country, & ourselves! Hands-down a great history book, & refresher & break down class of current events!
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- Brian
- 02-20-20
Badly named, but pretty good overall
I appreciated this book. I haven't spent much time reading about the last few decades of US foreign policy. I think it was really beneficial for me to zoom out from the daily/weekly news cycle that has been electrifying my nerves for the last few years now. Granted, I disagree with Bacevich's take on various events that he describes. But I never struggled to distinguish from what he describes as recent US historical facts, and his opinion. While I don't always follow his views on events, I didn't find them to be frustratingly skewed from reality at any point. I also don't agree with Amazon ebook reviewers that took umbrage to his conclusion about climate change being a potential catalyst for political/societal change. He only touches on the topic briefly in the last chapter, so why fixate on that one point? I didn't start reading this book expecting to find all of our answers by the end.
I'll also disagree with the positive reviewers that describe this book as any more than a historical brief. There are events in this book that are briefly touched on, and that I now wish to read much more about. The actual aim of the book is to frame what the 2016 election was really about. On that side of things, I found the book agreeable.
While I was reading I wondered if the book misunderstood the concept it describes as the "Emerald City." I couldn't help but think of Steven Pinker's book Enlightment Now. That book makes the point that the wider society, including those of us not doing well financially, have more and better access to creature comforts than ever before. He describes modern day life for a person with modest income having features and benefits that higher classes didn't have many decades ago. Point being, if we were already in the Emerald City, would we even know it? Perhaps we didn't fail to reach the Emerald City, but instead failed to recognize it altogether. We're facing new challenges, wrought by globalization as Mr. Bacevich correctly points out.
On reflection, I think his point is that the Emerald City was always an illusion (hence the awful title of the book). If that's the case, he's definitely right. I think he makes a good point that the end of the cold war resulted in taking our foot off the brakes. The national debt would seem to confirm this.
Anyway I'm sure I have much more to contemplate and learn about this from Mr. Bacevich. I found out about his book on the Bloggingheads podcast. I had stopped about 10 minutes in because the topic was interesting, then resumed after finishing the book. All in all, I'm quite glad I've listened.
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5 people found this helpful