Reviews
"An outstanding reading experience. Kagan convincingly challenges the received wisdom that 19th-century America was essentially isolationist by showing that from its birth this nation aggressively expanded its frontiers across the entire continent, ousting the British, Spanish, French, Russians, and Mexicans from what are now the 50 states. . . Massively researched, well argued, thought-provoking, and constantly surprising. . . an essential addition to academic collections on American and diplomatic history." -"Library Journal" "Brilliant and absorbing . . . Many critics of U.S. foreign policy will not need persuading that America is a dangerous nation . . . "Dangerous Nation" is not aimed at them. It is meant for the general reader, of course, and for those in sympathy with the projection of American power in recent times . . . But the book is also intended for Democrats, who may at first hate it. . . They may want to think before they strike. As it happens, Democrats have special reason to look forward to the 20th-century sequel, for Mr. Kagan's narrative of American power is, in many ways, the story of their own party. . . There should be something in this project for almost everyone." -Brendan Simms, "The Wall Street Journal" ""Dangerous Nation "is a first-rate work of history, based on prodigious reading and enlivened by a powerful prose style. It also casts a bright light on America's role in the world-and on its manifold tensions with other countries. . . Helps bring long-dead diplomatic history to life." -"The Economist" "Provocative . . . Powerfully persuasive, sophisticated." -"Publishers Weekly," starred review, "This is a landmark study that belongs in the library of every serious student of American foreign policy. A brilliant and original survey that challenges long-held assumptions and puts important but forgotten events and ideas under the spotlight, Dangerous Nation is a tour de force of historical writing that should change the way many people view the country's past." -Walter Russell Mead, "Foreign Affairs" "Kagan again assumes the stance of "enfant terrible," assailing the keepers of the conventional wisdom.... ÝHis¨ trashing of orthodoxy Ýand¨ ... systematic dismantling of accepted dogmas is refreshingly provocative...."Dangerous Nation" draws from a deep well of historical scholarship about American foreign relations." -David M. Kennedy, "The Washington Post" "ÝC¨arefully crafted ... an engaging interpretation of American history, made the more so by the author's skill in presenting it. . . Kagan is able to give fresh interpretations to familiar landmarks of American history." -Edmund S. Morgan, "The New York Review of Books" "An outstanding reading experience. Kagan convincingly challenges the received wisdom that 19th-century America was essentially isolationist by showing that from its birth this nation aggressively expanded its frontiers across the entire continent, ousting the British, Spanish, French, Russians, and Mexicans from what are now the 50 states. . . Massively researched, well argued, thought-provoking, and constantly surprising. . . an essential addition to academic collections on American and diplomatic history." -"Library Journal" "Brilliant and absorbing . . . Many critics of U.S. foreign policy will not need persuading that America isa dangerous nation . . . "Dangerous Nation" is not aimed at them. It is meant for the general reader, of course, and for those in sympathy with the projection of American power in recent times . . . But the book is also intended for Democrats, who may at first hate it. . . They may want to think before they strike. As it happens, Democrats have special reason to look forward to the 20th-century sequel, for Mr. Kagan's narrative of American power is, in many ways, the story of their own party. . . There should be something in this project for almost everyone." -Brendan Simms, "The Wall Street Journal" ""Dangerous Nation "is a first-rate work of history, based on prodigious reading and enlivened by a powerful prose style. It also casts a bright light on America's role in the world-and on its manifold tensions with other countries. . . Helps bring long-dead diplomatic history to life." -"The Economist" "Provocative . . . Powerfully persuasive, sophisticated." -"Publishers Weekly," starred review, "This is a landmark study that belongs in the library of every serious student of American foreign policy. A brilliant and original survey that challenges long-held assumptions and puts important but forgotten events and ideas under the spotlight, Dangerous Nation is a tour de force of historical writing that should change the way many people view the country's past." Walter Russell Mead, Foreign Affairs "Kagan again assumes the stance of enfant terrible , assailing the keepers of the conventional wisdom…. [His] trashing of orthodoxy [and] … systematic dismantling of accepted dogmas is refreshingly provocative…. Dangerous Nation draws from a deep well of historical scholarship about American foreign relations." David M. Kennedy, The Washington Post "[C]arefully crafted … an engaging interpretation of American history, made the more so by the author's skill in presenting it. . . Kagan is able to give fresh interpretations to familiar landmarks of American history." Edmund S. Morgan, The New York Review of Books "An outstanding reading experience. Kagan convincingly challenges the received wisdom that 19th-century America was essentially isolationist by showing that from its birth this nation aggressively expanded its frontiers across the entire continent, ousting the British, Spanish, French, Russians, and Mexicans from what are now the 50 states. . . Massively researched, well argued, thought-provoking, and constantly surprising. . . an essential addition to academic collections on American and diplomatic history." Library Journal "Brilliant and absorbing . . . Many critics of U.S. foreign policy will not need persuading that America is a dangerous nation . . . Dangerous Nation is not aimed at them. It is meant for the general reader, of course, and for those in sympathy with the projection of American power in recent times . . . But the book is also intended for Democrats, who may at first hate it. . . They may want to think before they strike. As it happens, Democrats have special reason to look forward to the 20th-century sequel, for Mr. Kagan's narrative of American power is, in many ways, the story of their own party. . . There should be something in this project for almost everyone." Brendan Simms, The Wall Street Journal " Dangerous Nation is a first-rate work of history, based on prodigious reading and enlivened by a powerful prose style. It also casts a bright light on America's role in the worldand on its manifold tensions with other countries. . . Helps bring long-dead diplomatic history to life." The Economist "Provocative . . . Powerfully persuasive, sophisticated." Publishers Weekly , starred review
