An Empire If You Can Keep It: Power and Principle in American Foreign Policy

Thomas Magstadt's masterpeice about the rise and fall of great powers and Imperialism in general is one of the best that I have ever read. I wrote a 22 page paper in college using this as my primary citation source. Magstadt manages to keep the dry material that he is covering very interesting and fresh with a humorous twist in-between. Major topics covered are : ( not in any particular order ) A. Major Imperial powers of the 18th-20th century and how they relate to the world today. B. The Cold War and its impact on the world C. The post 9/11 world D. Globalization of terrorism and non-state sponsored terrorism E. Neo-conservative policies and their impact on the world F. Differing Presidential "Doctrines" and how they affect the direction of current events. An absolute must read for anyone interested in world politics, history, or just want to learn something. Honestly, the only history book that I absolutely couldn't put down.