The American Empire

The widespread influence of the United States on states and cultures around the world has led many to presume the existence of an American empire. In this book, each of the three sections focuses on a separate developmental phase in U.S. history, creating a basic conceptual framework for students. The first set of essays looks to the past for the origins of American imperialism and the roots of American superiority. The second section looks at how the United States applies-or sometimes misapplies-its unparalleled power and influence overseas, as well as the effects of such actions on domestic issues. The essays in the final section consider a future in which the United States acknowledges and asserts its imperial status, while examining the beneficial and harmful effects of a self-consciously active empire.

Children's Literature

Advanced readers will find a wealth of information about the issue of the United States as an empire in this collection of twelve articles from four scholarly journals: Current History, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, and Journal of Democracy. Following the editor's introduction to this second of three books in the series "The World in Focus," the articles are arranged in three sections that examine America's imperial past, present, and future. The articles, which assume some knowledge of politics and history, reflect differing views on various issues of empire. Before each of the articles, the editor provides a page that presents a context for that article and often relates it to articles or issues that have already been presented. Because these thoughtful and well-written articles were published in 2003 and 2004 (with the exception of one article from 1999), discussions of the Iraq war are limited to its early days, but most of them do mention it. Most of the articles and the pages of editor's comments are annotated. A bibliography of the book's articles follows the text. Further lists of sources cited and additional reading plus an index complete the volume.