The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism

Bacevich's dense text may not be ideal for an audiobook. In this critical exploration of American cultural and political breakdown in the global state of affairs, Bacevich's succinctness works great in text format but may be detrimental to the listener, who must tune into every sentence or risk losing the larger meaning. His sharp criticism for American decay, in part as a result of winning the Cold War (or maybe not losing is a better way to frame it), represents both sides of the political aisle specific examples. Eric Conger's narration proves challenging to the listener; his individual sentences are easy to follow, but he fails to provide a larger narrative emphasis, which can make Bacevich's analytical prose that much harder to follow. A Metropolitan Books hardcover (Reviews, June 16).