The Ghost at the Feast: America and the Collapse of World Order, 1900-1941

"When the U.S. awakened to its status as a world power, it had to learn how to exercise power and shape the world without losing its founding principles. It had no strategy to do so. Robert Kagan challenges old tropes with economic data and a keen look at the domestic situation, arguing that World War II was a result of poor decisions in the 1920s. Underestimating U.S. power at home and abroad in 1919 had huge consequences. Once unleashed, there was no going back on how or when to use it."