Battlegrounds : The Fight to Defend the Free World
Author(s): H. R. McMaster
New York Times Bestseller
Now with new text from McMaster addressing the January 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol and recommending how citizens across the free world can work together to restore confidence in democratic institutions and processes
From Lt. General H.R. McMaster, U.S. Army, ret., the former National Security Advisor and author of the bestselling classic Dereliction of Duty, comes a bold and provocative re-examination of the most critical foreign policy and national security challenges that face the United States, and an urgent call to compete to preserve America’s standing and security.
Across multiple administrations since the end of the Cold War, American foreign policy has been misconceived, inconsistent, and poorly implemented. As a result, America and the free world have fallen behind rivals in power and influence. Meanwhile threats to security, freedom, and prosperity, such as nuclear proliferation and jihadist terrorism have grown. In BATTLEGROUNDS, H.R. McMaster describes efforts to reassess and fundamentally shift policies while he was National Security Advisor. And he provides a clear pathway forward to improve strategic competence and prevail in complex competitions against our adversaries.
Battlegrounds is a groundbreaking reassessment of America’s place in the world, drawing from McMaster’s long engagement with these issues, including 34 years of service in the U.S. Army with multiple tours of duty in battlegrounds overseas and his 13 months as National Security Advisor in the Trump White House. It is also a powerful call for Americans and citizens of the free world to transcend the vitriol of partisan political discourse, better educate themselves about the most significant challenges to national and international security and work together to secure peace and prosperity for future generations.
Review(s):
“Dereliction of Duty was a devastating account of how the United States had a flawed decision-making process that was largely based on self-deception. In many ways, Battlegrounds is the sequel, seeking to ask the question of why — not whether — the United States, at another moment of protests in the streets and bitter partisan divides, is losing its ability to shape the world. . . . Battlegrounds is, at its heart, the McMaster strategic plan that might have come to fruition had he worked for a president who was interested in strategic plans.”
“With the kind of detail that reportedly caused Trump to sour on him, McMaster takes us on a tour of those parts of the world that, in his view, pose the greatest danger to the United States….Along the way, there are dense and often rich diversions into the history that shaped each place….McMaster has an erudite and confident voice, and is at his best when dissecting emerging trends such as Russia’s weaponization of disinformation and Xi Jinping’s increasing assertion of control over all aspects of Chinese life and use of technology to shape events beyond China’s borders.”
"[Battlegrounds] is not a dramatic tell-all documenting [McMaster's] 13 months in the White House. McMaster said he had no desire to write another "palace intrigue" memoir. Instead, he offers a thoughtful critique of U.S. foreign policy and a restrained assessment of Trump’s approach to North Korea, Afghanistan and other global hotspots.
"Indeed, in my judgment, this is the best recent book on the national-security threats facing the United States of America and on what we should do about them. Anyone who wants to know more about these challenges should take the opportunity to learn at the feet of this warrior-scholar who has devoted his life to making America safer."
“A lively memoir of McMaster's time in office, and a scholarly, engaging history and deep analysis of the wide range of national security threats that face the United States and its allies.”
"McMaster, unlike others who left the administration, has not written a new tell-all about the US president, but rather an important new book that lays out what US strategy can accomplish in the future. . . . McMaster's book is beautifully crafted, packed with information."
“(McMaster) stresses the need to know more about a complex world of actors who, as it turns out, do not think as we do or share our world view. He devotes the bulk of his book to a tour of the globe with an eye out for the parts most fraught — now, and in the foreseeable future. . . . It is, one suspects, the master in-depth briefing the author always wanted to give the president.”
"McMaster’s new book, Battlegrounds, is not a Trump book. . . . Instead, McMaster, whose first book Dereliction of Duty concerned policy failures in the Vietnam war, offers detailed examinations of key foreign policy issues – Russia, China, North Korea – spliced with regular pleas for unity at home.
“Two years after leaving the White House, former national security adviser H.R. McMaster is looking back at U.S. foreign policy since the end of the Cold War – and finds it deeply flawed. The reason? “Strategic narcissism,” an overly U.S.-centric worldview that has blinded American policymakers. Lieutenant General McMaster, a historian and highly decorated commander, examines that pattern in his wide-ranging new book, Battlegrounds. Overall, his goal is to inspire Americans to educate themselves about the world, and to strengthen U.S. “strategic empathy,” which he views as essential for foreign policy success.”
"Indispensable. . . . Battlegrounds provides a comprehensive and expert review of the strategic threats the US faced when the author was in the White House – not only the Chinese challenge but also Russia’s troublemaking everywhere from Syria to cyberspace, and the perennial North Korean and Iranian menaces.”
ISBN: 9780063029682