A painstaking, take-no-prisoners attack on those who believe that America's historical experience can be duplicated everywhere... This makes for powerful reading.
Robert Kaplan, Wall Street Journal A valiant effort to assert that Woodrow Wilson's view of how America should relate to the world has relevance today... Smith performs a service to readers looking to place current domestic political developments ... Read morein historical context.
Publishers Weekly [Smith] wants to reclaim Wilson's historical memory to bolster the very idea of liberal internationalism, which he correctly considers under assault. For Smith, the problem is not that the United States stands for liberal values and seeks to promote democracy abroad; for too many, doing so has become synonymous with military force and overthrowing governments. The association of Wilson's precepts with the recent wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya has caused many to question the wisdom of a vigorous American role in the world. The result, Smith argues, is that 'neo-Wilsonianism sabotaged the very tradition from which it had emerged.'
Derek Chollet, The National Interest Show Less