Andrew Bacevich is a leading American public intellectual, writing in the fields of culture and politics with particular attention to war and America's role in the world. Twilight of the American Century is a collection of his selected essays written since 9/11. In these essays, Bacevich critically examines the U.S. response to the events of September 2001, as they have played out in the years since, radically affecting the way Americans see themselves and their nation's place in the world.
Bacevich is the author of nearly a dozen books and contributes to a wide variety of publications, including Foreign Affairs, The Nation, Commonweal, Harper's, and the London Review of Books. His op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, among other newspapers. Prior to becoming an academic, he was a professional soldier. His experience as an Army officer informs his abiding concern regarding the misuse of American military power and the shortcomings of the U.S. military system. As a historian, he has tried to see the past differently, thereby making it usable to the present.
Bacevich combines the perspective of a scholar with the background of a practitioner. His views defy neat categorization as either liberal or conservative. He belongs to no "school." His voice and his views are distinctive, provocative, and refreshing. Those with a focus on political and cultural developments and who have a critical interest in America's role in the world will be keenly interested in this book.

Andrew J. Bacevich is professor emeritus of history and international relations at Boston University and the author of numerous books, including America's War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History.

Introduction

Part 1. Poseurs and Prophets

1. A Letter to Paul Wolfowitz (2013)

2. David Brooks: Angst in the Church of America the Redeemer (2017)

3. Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.: The Decline of Liberalism (2017)

4. George Kennan: Kennan Kvetches (2014)

5. Tom Clancy, Military Man (2014)

6. Robert Kagan: The Duplicity of the Ideologues (2014)

7. Boykinism: Joe McCarthy Would Understand (2012)

8. Henry Luce: The Elusive American Century (2012)

9. Donald Rumsfeld: Known and Unknown (2011)

10. Albert and Roberta Wohlstetter: Tailors to the Emperor (2011)

11. Douglas Feith and Ricardo Sanchez: Fault Lines (2008)

12. Tommy Franks: A Modern Major General (2004)

13. Henry Adams: Selling Our Souls (2011)

14. Christopher Lasch: Family Man (2010)

15. Randolph Bourne: The Man in the Black Cape (2009)

16. William Appleman Williams: Tragedy Renewed (2009)

17. Reinhold Niebuhr: Illusions of Managing History (2007)

Part 2. History and Myth

18. Saving 'America First' (2017)

19. Kissing the Specious Present Goodbye (2017)

20. The Age of Great Expectations (2017)

21. American Imperium (2016)

22. History That Makes Us Stupid (2015)

23. Always and Everywhere (2013)

24. The Ugly American Telegram (2013)

25. The Revisionist Imperative (2012)

26. The End of (Military) History? (2010)

27. Twilight of the Republic? (2006)

28. What Happened at Bud Dajo (2006)

29. The Folly of Albion (2005)

30. World War IV (2005)

Part 3. War and Empire

31. Save Us From Washington's Visionaries (2015)

32. A War of Ambition (2014)

33. Naming Our Nameless War (2013)

34. How We Became Israel (2012)

35. Breaking Washington's Rules (2011)

36. Why read Clausewitz .... (2006)

37. Living Room War (2005)

38. Bush's Grand Strategy (2002)

39. New Rome, New Jerusalem (Summer 2002)

40. Permanent War for Permanent Peace (November 2001)

Part 4. Politics and Culture

41. Slouching Toward Mar-a-Lago (2017)

42. Not the 'Age of Trump' (2017)

43. The Failure of American Liberalism (2016)

44. An Ode to Ike and Adlai (2016)

45. War and Culture, American Style (2016)

46. Under God (2015)

47. Thoughts on a Graduation Weekend (2014)

48. One Percent Republic (2013)

49. Counterculture Conservatism (2013)

50. Ballpark Liturgy (2011)

51. The Great Divide (2008)

Acknowledgments

Index