Stuff I'm Reading: America Between the Wars

America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11 by Derek Chollet

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a refreshing history that steers clear of editorializing, cheerleading or any of the things that could have made this partisan pap. As the title states, this is a history from the fall of the Berlin Wall (11-9) to 9-11, and how in spite of what we think, 9-11 did not "change everything." The 12 years between the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the War on Terror were years where there was great struggle to determine what the role of the U.S in the world would be--how military and economic issues would shake out in the wake of the fall of Communism. Clinton does not get off easy, neither does Bush, but in revealing faults the authors also show how the U.S' Iraq policy in 2008 is really just an extension of policies that were already in place.

While I love a good book that gleefully trashes the current administration, I really benefited more from this type of history that puts the present into perspective.


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