Michael O’Hanlon — TO DARE MIGHTY THINGS: U.S. Defense Strategy Since the Revolution - with Bradley Graham

The definitive history of U.S. defense strategy.Much of the history of U.S. defense over the course of 250 years has been a story of success. Insulated by two oceans and mostly friendly neighbors, but constantly ambitious abroad, America has dared mighty things and often achieved them, argues defense analyst Michael O’Hanlon. After growing into a continental power, largely through force of arms, during the first half of its history, it then led the way to coalition victories in two world wars, pursued peace in the Cold War, and has contributed to the most democratic period in human history. But it is a more “dangerous nation” than most citizens appreciate, given that its leaders, as well its people, are highly self-confident and activist. O’Hanlon claims that only by understanding this “national DNA” can we hope to steer safely through the twenty-first century. He further argues that, in contrast to its consistently assertive grand strategy, there has been no single defining American “way of war” since 1775—a good thing, since what often worked for the country in the past may be of less relevance for the modern age.Michael O’Hanlon holds the Philip H. Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of many books, including The Art of War in an Age of Peace: U.S. Grand Strategy and Resolute Restraint. He teaches at Columbia and Georgetown Universities and lives in Bethesda, MD.O’Hanlon is in conversation with Bradley Graham, co-owner of Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, DC.  He and his wife, Lissa Muscatine, assumed ownership of P&P in 2011. Previously, Brad spent 30 years with The Washington Post as a reporter and editor focused mostly on foreign and national security affairs. He also has written two books---Hit to Kill, an account published in 2001 of renewed U.S. efforts to build a national missile defense system, and By His Own Rules, a biography of Donald Rumsfeld published in 2009.PURCHASE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9780300279931?ic_referral=wy28epOyFTG7wwxPr4rfancApIYDWcb9h0UlTGJShfUwMxCSw_jMjGHGwlylsZDKmC38FvH7SNLW1LI9GTswOQtUh_JGoT9GlhfaSR0Ci0EwaacSKeLxqMzucHh5VjkpFKjCz44