Daydream Believers: How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power

The Bush administration's military and foreign policy stems from the concept that the world fundamentally changed on September 11, 2001. Kaplan's critical assessment argues that it didn't and that the growing disdain, discord and destruction of foreign relations is in large part due to the administration's failure to adopt a more realistic approach to the post-Cold-War era. Tracing the different debacles over the years from Israeli-Palestinian relations to North Korea's attainment of nuclear power and the continual mess in Iraq, Kaplan reveals how the Bush administrations' idle fantasies have put the U.S. in a more vulnerable position. Rudnicki's deep, foreboding voice perfectly matches the tone of this book, giving the true gravitas of the situation. With such a stern and commanding presence, Rudnicki emulates the military atmosphere that much of this book entails. His voice adds a level of immanency that a reader might not deduce from reading it alone. A John Wiley hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 12, 2007).