Military History | Foreign Policy | International Relations
A Perilous Twenty-First Century
Author:
Wade Shol, Phd
ISBN 978-0-9797539-0-9
416 pages \ softcover (6 x 9) 2008
Part I: Offense
Chapter One - Introduction \ p. 05
Chapter Two - Fundamentals \ p. 14
Chapter Three - Alfred Thayer Mahan \ p. 35
Part II: Defense
Chapter Four - Critical Mass \ p. 59
Chapter Five - National Power \ p. 78
Chapter Six - Power Resources \ p. 100
Part III: History
Chapter Seven - Exploration and Discovery \ p. 127
Chapter Eight - East Meets West \ p. 147
Chapter Nine - A Nation Like No Other \ p. 170
Part IV: The Modern Era
Chapter Ten - Cold War Rising \ p. 197
Chapter Eleven - The Outer Limits \ p. 219
Chapter Twelve - To the Gay Nineties and Beyond \ p. 242
Part V: Back to the Future
Chapter Thirteen - Now and Forever \ p. 267
Chapter Fourteen - In the Year 2025 \ p. 288
Chapter Fifteen - Where to from Here \ p. 311
Notes \ p. 329
Bibliography \ p. 367
Index \ p. 390
DESCRIPTION:
At the close of the nineteenth century the United States found itself propelled into the ranks of a world power. A tradition of avoiding foreign entanglements sank with the start of the Spanish-American War. As the twentieth century began, one particular man arose to provide sound reasons for entering the mêlée of global politics. Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan arrived onstage with a national policy view of sea power. This vision enabled the West to overcome two global wars and a dubiously labeled “Cold War.” Mahan’s contribution to America’s survival was profound, and yet so few know the name. Who is this man? What was his policy advice for the United States? How did he pull the Navy and Marine Corps from the depths of the sea and into the frontline of forward power projection? How did his methodology turn an isolated nation into a beacon of hope for people around the world during mankind’s most ravaged century? Will his advice be followed in the coming years, or will Western states pursue the same self-inflicted path of destruction taken by others in the past? Is there time to salvage the vestiges of liberty and the ideals of self-government? Tyrants look on while sharpening their fangs. Anticipation builds as the traditional political ways of the West slide into mediocrity. Is it too late?
