The author's premise is that the United States is no longer the promised land and is experiencing the effects of faults in the capitalist system as it deals with depressions, debt, and unemployment. This manuscript presents a comprehensive survey of world politics and economics in the twentieth century that led to the decline of capitalism and to the rise in power of countries such as China, India, and Russia. His forecast about America's future is gloomy; however, at the end of the manuscript, he asserts his faith that the United States can return to its former glory by removing itself from the costly strategy of policing other countries. His argument is convincingly supported by historical facts and a depth of knowledge of economics that enables him to analyse American fiscal policies in comparison to those of other countries. He shows how a nation's economic health is intertwined with its political health. Overall the chronological structure of this manuscript provides a good format in which the author describes historical events relating to politics and economy. The tone is friendly, conversational, and cautionary, and despite the thesis, the tone is not one of despair or hopeless, but it ends on a hopeful note. The author has succeeded in establishing a factual, historical manuscript with a writing style that is informative and direct. The author shows a good grasp of a complicated subject and has been to condense his material to the most important details while complicated economic theories. His concise description of the American presidents of the early twentieth century show their weaknesses and strengths clearly and objectively. One literary technique that stands out for me is the author's metaphoric comparison of the United States to a fish in dirty water. It is Poignant, visceral, and memorable description. Gwen, Editor