The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic

Zoellick, Robert, 275

Zubok, Vladislav, 19

Zulus, 82

Zweibruchen Airfield (Germany), 195

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHALMERS JOHNSON is the author of the acclaimed Blowback and president of the Japan Policy Research Institute, as well as professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego. A frequent contributor to the London Review of Books and The Nation, among other periodicals, he has also written numerous books on Japan and Asia, including MITI and the Japanese Miracle and Japan: Who Governs? He lives near San Diego.

THE PROVOCATIVE—AND ALARMINGLY RELEVANT—NATIONAL BESTSELLER ON THE

CONSEQUENCES OF AMERICAN-STYLE MILITARISM, HAILED AS “TRENCHANTLY

ARGUED, COMPREHENSIVELY DOCUMENTED ... WORTHY OF THE REPUBLIC IT

SEEKS TO DEFEND” (THE BOSTON GLOBE)

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In the years after the Soviet Union imploded, the United States was described first as the globe’s “lone superpower,” then as a “reluctant sheriff,” next as the “indispensable nation,” and, in the wake of 9/11, as a “New Rome.” In this important and bestselling book, Chalmers Johnson explores the new militarism that is transforming America and compelling its people to pick up the burden of empire.

Recalling the classic warnings against militarism—from George Washington’s Farewell Address to Dwight Eisenhower’s denunciation of the military-industrial complex—Johnson uncovers its roots deep in our past. Turning to the present, he maps America’s empire of military bases and identifies the new caste of professional militarists overseeing its expansion. This militarism, Johnson concludes, is already putting an end to the age of globalization, bankrupting the United States, and creating conditions for a new century of virulent blow-back. The Sorrows of Empire suggests that the former American republic has already crossed its Rubicon—with the Pentagon in the lead.

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“In Blowback, published before September 11, Chalmers Johnson introduced us to a chilling code word for our times. The Sorrows of Empire is even more sobering, for it associates the United States with a dynamic most Americans still find unmentionable—our ever-deepening militarism. Here is a scholar’s critique and a patriot’s cry, presented with unflinching courage.”

—John W. Dower, author of Embracing Defeat, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

“A frightening picture of a military-industrial complex grown into exactly the powerful, secretive force that Dwight 0. Eisenhower warned against.”

—The New York Times Book Review

CHALMERS JOHNSON, president of the Japan Policy Research Institute, is a frequent contributor to the London Review of Books and The Nation. His previous books include the national bestseller Blowback, as well as MITI and the Japanese Miracle. He lives near San Diego.