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MWSA Review
This outstanding book sheds great light on, and provokes deep thought about, our American Dream. The book provides a “comprehensive assessment of the totality of threats and challenges facing the nation and how we address them” (p. xix) if we want to rebuild and strengthen what is now a torn and tattered American Dream.
The author provides a fully detailed and referenced review of four major challenges and threats to our nation and its dream of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” expressed in the U.S. Constitution. These include: 1) Natural Threats (e.g., earthquakes, global warming, pandemics); 2) Domestic Challenges (e.g., threats to life, personal liberties, democratic dysfunction); 3) Global competition (e.g., globalization, terrorism, China, Islam); and 4) National Strategy (e.g., fix America first, realign foreign policy, and develop and implement strategies).
The book is professionally organized, well written, and highly detailed and referenced. In this regard, the book reflects the knowledge, skills, and professional capabilities and experiences of its author, Edward Corcoran, a retired U.S. Army officer with extensive experience in the Army Soviet Affairs Program, military intelligence, and nuclear affairs. His service took him to tours in Germany, South Korea, and Vietnam. He concluded his career as a strategic analyst at the U.S. Army War College.
The book is rich with facts and details, which bring to life four threatening issues and corresponding recommendations for action. Perhaps the most important point: We’re running out of time to refresh and rebuild our fading American Dream.
I highly recommend this excellent, thought-provoking work.
Review by Bruce K. Berger (March 2025)
Author's Synopsis
America has been a Beacon of Freedom to many, yet today it fails to live up to its credo, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The American Dream that working hard would lead to a good life has faded for many who now struggle for affordable healthcare and housing, higher education, and a living wage. Efforts to promote a more democratic and prosperous nation are thwarted by an economic system that favors the top levels. Society is wracked with racial and political unrest that has resulted in violence even in the sacred halls of its Capital. Globally, America has moved past the Cold War threats of the Soviet Union. Those we now face are more diffuse and in many ways more dangerous-Islamic radicalism, a rise of autocratic governments, fragmenting alliances, global refugee flows, expanding military technologies, cyber intrusions, and global warming. A National Strategy is badly needed to provide a comprehensive assessment of these challenges and to balance the allocation of resources to revive the American Dream. That is the focus of this book.
Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Reference
Number of Pages: 247
Word Count: 74,051