An illuminating source of geopolitical insight without the tell-all urgency of so many other books by former Trump aides.
The retired general and former national security adviser limns the failures of American foreign policy.
Although he was forced out for being insufficiently laudatory about Donald Trump’s fawning approach to dictators in Russia, North Korea, and elsewhere, McMaster’s criticisms of his former boss are more nuanced than one might expect. While being interviewed for the job as national security adviser after Michael Flynn was himself forced out, he writes, “President Trump seemed sympathetic to my observation that the United States had not competed effectively in recent years and that, as a result, determined adversaries had gained strength and our power and influence had diminished.” In this ongoing degradation, the U.S. had lost ground, especially to Russia and China, both of which played the long game in geopolitics, leaving the U.S. a victim of its own “strategic narcissism.” That flaw, writes the author, plagues both the right and the left, abetted by the likes of George Soros and Charles Koch to the same effect. McMaster finds fault in the strategic policies of the last several administrations, though none more so than Trump’s, which he seems to view as feckless. Certainly, Trump’s people have not been able to counter adequately what in military-speak is called RNGW, or “Russia new-generation warfare.” The fundamental problem, he suggests, is psychological, even spiritual. “Our will is diminished,” writes McMaster. “As our foreign policies swung from over-optimism to resignation, identity politics interacted with new forms of populism.” The manifestations are political polarity, an inability (even if Trump was amenable to the idea) to counter Russian cyberwarfare and especially electoral interference, “diminishing trust in authoritative sources of information,” a “toxic environment in Washington,” and, as one international relations expert put it, the inability to play a strong hand well even as adversaries play poor hands well.
An illuminating source of geopolitical insight without the tell-all urgency of so many other books by former Trump aides.Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-289946-0
Page Count: 560
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.
Words that made a nation.
Isaacson is known for expansive biographies of great thinkers (and Elon Musk), but here he pens a succinct, stimulating commentary on the Founding Fathers’ ode to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” His close reading of the Declaration of Independence’s second sentence, published to mark the 250th anniversary of the document’s adoption, doesn’t downplay its “moral contradiction.” Thomas Jefferson enslaved hundreds of people yet called slavery “a cruel war against human nature” in his first draft of the Declaration. All but 15 of the document’s 56 signers owned enslaved people. While the sentence in question asserted “all men are created equal” and possess “unalienable rights,” the Founders “consciously and intentionally” excluded women, Native Americans, and enslaved people. And yet the sentence is powerful, Isaacson writes, because it names a young nation’s “aspirations.” He mounts a solid defense of what ought to be shared goals, among them economic fairness, “moral compassion,” and a willingness to compromise. “Democracy depends on this,” he writes. Isaacson is excellent when explaining how Enlightenment intellectuals abroad influenced the founders. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Declaration’s “five-person drafting committee,” stayed in David Hume’s home for a month in the early 1770s, “discussing ideas of natural rights” with the Scottish philosopher. Also strong is Isaacson’s discussion of the “edits and tweaks” made to Jefferson’s draft. As recommended by Franklin and others, the changes were substantial, leaving Jefferson “distraught.” Franklin, who emerges as the book’s hero, helped establish municipal services, founded a library, and encouraged religious diversity—the kind of civic-mindedness that we could use more of today, Isaacson reminds us.
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781982181314
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
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