After the Fall: Being American in the World We've Made
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-13 18:31:00
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Ben Rhodes
- ISBN：1984856057
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Nancy
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Like all human beings， we are fallen， able to do both good and evil。 ~from After the Fall by Ben RhodesBen Rhodes calls After the Fall a book of stories， the story of his journey from idealist patriot to questioning the myths we share， from working with President Obama to seeing their legacy dismantled。 Endeavoring to understand the rise of authoritarianism and nationalism across the world， he tells the stories of people who fight for democratic rights in increasingly authoritarian countries' an Like all human beings， we are fallen， able to do both good and evil。 ~from After the Fall by Ben RhodesBen Rhodes calls After the Fall a book of stories， the story of his journey from idealist patriot to questioning the myths we share， from working with President Obama to seeing their legacy dismantled。 Endeavoring to understand the rise of authoritarianism and nationalism across the world， he tells the stories of people who fight for democratic rights in increasingly authoritarian countries' and how they are imprisoned， tortured， poisoned， and silenced。And he tells the story of how America has veered from its ideals and helped to create the world we live in today: how unconstrained capitalism destroyed the global economy in 2008， eroding faith in democracy and capitalism; how 'forever wars' eroded individual rights and created ethnic hate: how love of money trumped concern for human rights。: how technology impacted us for better and for worse; how a pandemic revealed "our most profound failings。"。。。Values like equality are no longer the business of governments around the world， they have been left to individuals to defend。~ from After the Fall by Ben RhodesRhodes sees the cycle "between autocracy and democracy， the powerful and the oppressed， corrupted system and the uncorrupted masses，" but holds onto the hope that， overall， the world arcs toward justice。 We have the opportunity， he writes， to "make capitalism about something more than money， to make national security about something other than subjugation， to make technology work better as a tool for human enlightenment。 To learn from others around the world instead of thinking that is is always we who have something to teach them。"I have read other books about these subjects。 What sets this one apart is Rhodes' heart and passion， his openness about his journey， and his empathy for the resistance leaders he meets。I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley。 My review is fair and unbiased。 。。。more
Sara Broad
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"After the Fall" by Ben Rhodes， most known for his position as one of Obama's security advisors， is a memoir and historical analysis about the move toward autocracy by many governments around the world and America's influence on this shift。 I like how Rhodes described the political and social climate that that led to Trump's election， but at the same time， thankfully， did not make it the focus of this book。 "After the Fall" provided me with a thorough education on current events in Hungary， the "After the Fall" by Ben Rhodes， most known for his position as one of Obama's security advisors， is a memoir and historical analysis about the move toward autocracy by many governments around the world and America's influence on this shift。 I like how Rhodes described the political and social climate that that led to Trump's election， but at the same time， thankfully， did not make it the focus of this book。 "After the Fall" provided me with a thorough education on current events in Hungary， the history of Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union， and the rise of Xi Jingping。 He makes a strong connection between these autocratic governments and the shift occurring in the United States。 Rhodes also details how the actions of the American government， military， and now big tech， are all contributing factors to how America has been demoted as the world's democratic leader。 On this point， it is hard to pinpoint what country is actually living up to democratic ideals， and this is part of the problem。 This was a really great book。 。。。more
Ekul
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This book was received as an ARC by the publisher on NetGalley。After the Fall: Being American in the World We’ve Made is fundamentally a book about American identity。 Ben Rhodes takes the fall of the United States’s status， on a global stage， as his starting point， and argues we can learn a great deal about ourselves from other peoples globally。 Significantly， Rhodes—although he never says it outright—believes that the United States is becoming increasingly less exceptional。 Rather maintaining i This book was received as an ARC by the publisher on NetGalley。After the Fall: Being American in the World We’ve Made is fundamentally a book about American identity。 Ben Rhodes takes the fall of the United States’s status， on a global stage， as his starting point， and argues we can learn a great deal about ourselves from other peoples globally。 Significantly， Rhodes—although he never says it outright—believes that the United States is becoming increasingly less exceptional。 Rather maintaining its position as the “leader of the free world，” recent political and economic decisions under the Trump administration has caused the United States to more closely mirror the rest of the world。 Instead of being a model for other peoples， the United States has been looking for models elsewhere。Rhodes’s book is divided into four parts。 In the first part， Rhodes examines the case of Hungary in the three decades following the end of communism。 While Hungary appeared to be on a liberal， democratic path throughout the 1990s， tactical interventions by Viktor Orbán and his party， Fidesz， has taken the country in a more nationalistic and authoritarian direction。 A similar line of thought is used in his second section， which looks to Russia。 However， while part one emphasizes the transition to democracy in Hungary， Russia is a powerful vehicle to study the excesses of the security state—something that emerged in parallel to the American security state following the terrorist attacks of September 11， 2001。 Moreover， the expansion of the American security state allowed Russian leaders—especially Vladimir Putin—to justify taking a more activist， hard-power， role in global affairs。 In part three， Rhodes looks at the case of China， which he finds mirrors the United States’s desire to be a superpower。 China increasingly has global reach and can project its agenda without relying on hard power。 In China， soft power is the order of the day。 Moreover， Rhodes looks at Chinese responses to the protests in Hong Kong， which he finds closely mirrors that of domestic security in the United States。Finally， Rhodes’s fourth section is where he spends the most time thinking about what makes the United States a coherent cultural， political， and social unit。 In the past， Americans saw themselves as defenders of the free world who opted for liberal internationalism through diplomacy， while the rise of both nationalism and the security state define current ideas of what it means to be “American。” Moreover， after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union， American policymakers believed that the world order would be reconstructed along the lines established by the American model。 However， in the decade of peace after 1989， Americans were instead left grasping about what their place in the world even was。 Rather than solving this problem， which is abstract and largely outside the purview of policymakers， the country began to modify itself towards the global norm。 Rather than the PRC or the Russian Federation becoming more “American，” the United States has become more Russian or more Chinese。 Rhodes does not believe that this process began with Donald Trump， but he does find Trump to be the best symbol of this transformation。 The transformation instead began in the 1990s and was solidified with the 2008 global financial crisis， where much of the world lost faith in characteristically American institutions overnight: liberal economics， democratic governance， broadly internationalist approaches to policy。While I do believe that Rhodes is right that much of the United States’s current turmoil is a result of it losing its identity in the decade after the collapse of communism， I also find that he does not give enough thought to the Cold War more broadly。 For instance， although the security state， as we know it today， was heavily constructed in the aftermath of the al-Qaeda’s attacks in 2001， the United States has rarely shied away from using hard power。 At the same time， the jingoistic nationalism that we see in right-wing spaces generally had their origins in the John Birch Society of the 1960s。 As much as I agree with the authors liberal patriotism， I do not think he spends enough space thinking about how failings of the Obama administration led to our current crisis。 I know there was little Obama could have done with some aspects but refusing to think critically about this seems almost grounded in hubris。That being said， I really enjoyed this book—it gave me a lot to chew on。 Moreover， there are a handful of anecdotes about President Obama that cannot be found elsewhere， and I truly enjoyed reading those。 This book will be of great interest to those of a center-left persuasion， as some portions of the book are quite polemical and will receive the ire of conservatives and progressives。 Those readers are unlikely to be persuaded by what they find in here， and will probably find more palatable answers elsewhere。 。。。more
Kameron Smith
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Ben Rhodes provides a voice and narrative to the angst， anger， and disorientation of the past 4 years。 Through his eyes we benefit from a unique perspective of going outside ourselves and outside our country。 What is America actually fighting for？ Where does all this radicalization lead？ Do we have a national identity outside of what we aren't？ Who is truly American？ Has the last 4 years shown who America truly is？There is an oscillation throughout this book of hope and reality of our current st Ben Rhodes provides a voice and narrative to the angst， anger， and disorientation of the past 4 years。 Through his eyes we benefit from a unique perspective of going outside ourselves and outside our country。 What is America actually fighting for？ Where does all this radicalization lead？ Do we have a national identity outside of what we aren't？ Who is truly American？ Has the last 4 years shown who America truly is？There is an oscillation throughout this book of hope and reality of our current state。 There is hope， but it will continue to require many MANY people to believe in it， find it， and stand up for it。 There is a sad reality of those who live in non-reality and those who seek to exploit these individuals。 We must stay vigilant， aware， and not fall prey to cynicism。Ben Rhodes speaks a lot about the 9/11 generation who went to Washington。 I hope this book finds its way into the hearts of a new generation headed to Washington， perhaps the 2020 generation。 Perhaps we will reckon with racial inequality and historic injustice。 Building on what the 9/11 generation has created perhaps we will not only fight against what we believe America isn't and actually decide what America is。I sincerely hope all who find this book in their hands will read with rapt attention to what is possible and find ways to implement a more optimistic tomorrow。 Thank you Mr。 Rhodes for taking me （and others） on this journey， in such a dark time， and for using the word "hegemony" so much that it is permanently engrained in my vocabulary。 。。。more
Whitney
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