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Drift

The Unmooring of American Military Power

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About this listen

 The #1 New York Times bestseller that charts America’s dangerous drift into a state of perpetual war.

"One of my favorite ideas is, never to keep an unnecessary soldier," Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1792. Neither Jefferson nor the other Found­ers could ever have envisioned the modern national security state, with its tens of thousands of "privateers"; its bloated Department of Homeland Security; its rust­ing nuclear weapons, ill-maintained and difficult to dismantle; and its strange fascination with an unproven counterinsurgency doctrine.

Written with bracing wit and intelligence, Rachel Maddow's Drift argues that we've drifted away from America's original ideals and become a nation weirdly at peace with perpetual war, with all the financial and human costs that entails. To understand how we've arrived at such a dangerous place, Maddow takes us from the Vietnam War to today's war in Afghanistan, along the way exploring the disturbing rise of executive authority, the gradual outsourcing of our war-making capabilities to private companies, the plummeting percentage of American families whose children fight our constant wars for us, and even the changing fortunes of G.I. Joe. She offers up a fresh, unsparing appraisal of Reagan's radical presidency. Ultimately, she shows us just how much we stand to lose by allowing the priorities of the national security state to overpower our political discourse.

Sensible yet provocative, dead serious yet seri­ously funny, Drift will reinvigorate a "loud and jangly" political debate about how, when, and where to apply America's strength and power--and who gets to make those decisions. Americas Freedom & Security Military Policy Political Science Politics & Government United States World National Security War Military Middle East American Foreign Policy Thought-Provoking Funny Vietnam War Iran
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As always Rachel Maddow takes a complex subject of America's militarisation and puts it in historical context. I always enjoy listening to her and she has a great way of engaging the audience. If you want to learn about American militarisation post WWII then I would recommend this. I loved tge chapter on Grenada, being British I knew our side of the story, I knew what Grenadans went through as I have friends from there but I didn't know the American rational. Recommend.

Brilliant

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Brilliant research and voiced as only Ms Maddow can. What a treasure she is for both the US and the rest of the world. RM restores your faith that not all Americans are intellectually & morally challenged like Trump and those who vote Republican.

Excellent.

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I hope the advice you proffer in Drift has an impact on policy and decision makers alike. Regrettably, there is an impenetrable force field even a bubble that prevents Washington from making sensible choices.

Fascinating Perspective

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Rachel Maddow. so much detail in her books, feel like I might read it all again from the beginning. You learn so much and things you've heard before but others that surprise you . I'm bound to have missed a few things so second time around I'll pick it all up. I've already read her new book Blowout and I found that fascinating so definitely recommend a Rachel Maddow book!!

excellent

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