In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of US Global Power

In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of US Global Power is an essential text for understanding geopolitics shaped by American hegemony. A professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Alfred W. McCoy has produced a well-researched book that often reads like a good detective novel instead of a serious historical structural analysis of the rise and fall of empires. The writing style is simple, transforming complex and multi-layered issues and dynamics into an easily understandable text accessible to all—an impressive feat considering the author’s focus on 100 years of American foreign policy. What makes McCoy’s knowledge of US foreign policy stand out among his contemporaries is that two of his research interests, the illegal drug trade and CIA covert operations, are, as he shows, two pillars which have solidified the USA’s hard-powered hegemony.