Irony of American History

â [Niebuhr] is one of my favorite philosophers. I take away [from his works] the compelling idea that thereâ s serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldnâ t use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away . . . the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard.â â President Barack Obama Forged during the tumultuous but triumphant postwar years when America came of age as a world power, The Irony of American History is more relevant now than ever before. Cited by politicians as diverse as Hillary Clinton and John McCain, Niebuhrâ s masterpiece on the incongruity between personal ideals and political reality is both an indictment of American moral complacency and a warning against the arrogance of virtue. Impassioned, eloquent, and deeply perceptive, Niebuhrâ s wisdom will cause readers to rethink their assumptions about right and wrong, war and peace. â The supreme American theologian of the twentieth century.â â Arthur Schlesinger Jr., New York Timesâ Niebuhr is important for the left today precisely because he warned about Americaâ s tendencyâ including the leftâ s tendencyâ to do bad things in the name of idealism. His thought offers a much better understanding of where the Bush administration went wrong in Iraq.â â Kevin Mattson, The Good Society â Irony provides the master key to understanding the myths and delusions that underpin American statecraft. . . . The most important book ever written on US foreign policy.â â Andrew J. Bacevich, from the Introduction (20090326)