The Emergency State: America's Pursuit of Absolute Security at All Costs - Hardcover

Unger, David C.

3.8

79 ratings by Goodreads

9781594203244: The Emergency State: America's Pursuit of Absolute Security at All Costs

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1594203245 ISBN 13: 9781594203244

Publisher: Penguin Pr, 2012

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

Hardcover. Pub Date: 2012 Pages: 368 Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated America is Trapped in a state of war that has Consumed our national life since before Pearl Harbor Over seven decades and Several bloody wars. Democratic and Republican politicians alike have assembled an increasing complicated-and increasingly ineffective-network of security services. Trillions of tax dollars have been diverted from essential domestic needs while the Pentagon created a worldwide web of military bases. inventing new American security interests where none previously existed. Yet this pursuit has not only damaged our democratic institutions and undermined our economic strength-it has fundamentally failed to make us safer.In The Emergency State. senior New York Times journalist David C. Unger reveals the hidden costs of America's obsessive pursuit of absolute national security . sh...

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

Editors' Choice, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

*

"Ambitious and valuable"
--WASHINGTON POST

"Unger should be commended for contributing to the debate... persuasive."
-- SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

"Unger's broad indictment of defense policy--bipartisan if not nonpartisan--is sure to spark considerable and worthy debate."
-- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"An important perspective about opportunities missed and roads not taken"
-- KIRKUS REVIEWS

"Thoughtful work for your smart political readers."
-- LIBRARY JOURNAL

"David Unger's informative, historical and incisive narrative clearly illustrates that that the challenge of upholding democratic principles is a constantly evolving challenge for even the most mature of democracies and makes clear that there is no trade-off between security and the respect for human rights and civil liberties."
-- Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997-2006)

"Like a skilled surgeon, David Unger lays bare the pathologies that have disfigured U. S. national security policy over the course of many decades. The result is a thoughtful, judicious, immensely readable, and vitally important book."
-- Andrew J. Bacevich, author of WASHINGTON RULES and THE LIMITS OF POWER

Editors' Choice, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
*
"Ambitious and valuable"
--WASHINGTON POST
"Unger should be commended for contributing to the debate... persuasive."
-- SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
"Unger's broad indictment of defense policy--bipartisan if not nonpartisan--is sure to spark considerable and worthy debate."
-- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"An important perspective about opportunities missed and roads not taken"
-- KIRKUS REVIEWS
"Thoughtful work for your smart political readers."
-- LIBRARY JOURNAL
"David Unger's informative, historical and incisive narrative clearly illustrates that that the challenge of upholding democratic principles is a constantly evolving challenge for even the most mature of democracies and makes clear that there is no trade-off between security and the respect for human rights and civil liberties."
-- Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997-2006)
"Like a skilled surgeon, David Unger lays bare the pathologies that have disfigured U. S. national security policy over the course of many decades. The result is a thoughtful, judicious, immensely readable, and vitally important book."
-- Andrew J. Bacevich, author of WASHINGTON RULES and THE LIMITS OF POWER

Editors' Choice, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
*
Ambitious and valuable
--WASHINGTON POST
"Unger should be commended for contributing to the debate... persuasive."
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Unger s broad indictment of defense policy bipartisan if not nonpartisan is sure to spark considerable and worthy debate.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"An important perspective about opportunities missed and roads not taken"
KIRKUS REVIEWS
Thoughtful work for your smart political readers.
LIBRARY JOURNAL
David Unger's informative, historical and incisive narrative clearly illustrates that that the challenge of upholding democratic principles is a constantly evolving challenge for even the most mature of democracies and makes clear that there is no trade-off between security and the respect for human rights and civil liberties.
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997-2006)
"Like a skilled surgeon, David Unger lays bare the pathologies that have disfigured U. S. national security policy over the course of many decades. The result is a thoughtful, judicious, immensely readable, and vitally important book."
Andrew J. Bacevich, author of WASHINGTON RULES and THE LIMITS OF POWER"

About the Author:

DAVID C. UNGER has been an editorial writer at The New York Times for more than thirty years—where he writes about foreign policy, international economics, and military issues--and a member of the paper’s Editorial Board for twenty-two years. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and teaches courses in American Foreign Policy at the Bologna Center of The Johns Hopkins University Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.