American Power & The New Mandarins

The perils of imperial democracy

With America’s foreign entanglements deepening by the month, highlighted by the recently declared war on Iraq, there is need for an independent analysis of America’s role in the world. American Power and the New Mandarins, Noam Chomsky’s first political book and widely considered to be among the most cogent and powerful statements against the American war in Vietnam, is a timely reminder of the perils of imperial democracy. This is quintessential Chomsky, combining a clear, fact-based critique of American overseas policy with an acute sense of moral outrage at the deceptions and hypocrisy that defend it on the home front.

‘‘ ‘A searing criticism of the system of values and decision-making that drove the United States to the jungles of Southeast Asia’—Michael R. Beschloss, The Washington Post Book World‘The importance of [this book] lies in its power to free our minds from old perspectives, to stimulate new efforts at historical, political and social thought’—Robert Sklar, The Nation