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The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris Review

Like the U.S. stock market and real estate bubbles, American foreign policy and actions are prone to cyclical build up of hubris and subsequent disastrous bubble bursts; Vietnam, Iraq.

Mr. Beinart illustrates the pitfalls of initial success leading to hubris in three key moments in U.S. history: Woodrow Wilson's World War I and ethic of reason, LBJ's Vietnam and ethic of toughness, Bush's Iraq and ethic of dominance. In all three instances, American intellectuals were convinced they could reshape the world in their image with minimal effort and cost, and that oppressed people were waiting with open arms to adopt American values of freedom and democracy.

The "Icarus" in "The Icarus Syndrome" is a mythical Greek character who flew too close to the sun with wings constructed by his father, and fell to his death after his wings burned. Icarus' father had advised him not to fly too low close to the sea, or too high near to the sun. Icarus' flight is akin to America's foreign ambitions; too little of it such as isolationism can culminate in a Pearl Harbor event, and too much of it can turn into hubris and drain national blood and treasure. Mr. Beinart uses numerous historical events and arguments from intellectuals of their era in chronological order to show how to strike a balance between the two. Comprehensive and well worth the read.

The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris Feature

ISBN13: 9780061456466
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The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris Overview

In The Icarus Syndrome, Peter Beinart tells a tale as old as the Greeks -- a story about the seductions of success. Beinart describes Washington on the eve of three wars -- World War One, Vietnam, and Iraq -- three moments when American leaders decided they could remake the world in their image. Each time, leading intellectuals declared that history was over, and the spread of democracy was inevitable. Each time, a president held the nation in the palm of his hand. And each time, a war conceived in arrogance brought untold tragedy.

In dazzling color, Beinart portrays three extraordinary generations: the progressives who took America into World War I, led by Woodrow Wilson, the lonely preacher's son who became the closest thing to a political messiah the world had ever seen. The Camelot intellectuals who took America into Vietnam, led by Lyndon Johnson, who lay awake at night after night shaking with fear that his countrymen considered him weak. And George W. Bush and the post-cold war neoconservatives, the romantic bullies who believed they could bludgeon the Middle East and liberate it at the same time. Like Icarus, each of these generations crafted "wings" -- a theory about America's relationship to the world. They flapped carefully at first, but gradually lost their inhibitions until, giddy with success, they flew into the sun.

But every era also brought new leaders and thinkers who found wisdom in pain. They reconciled American optimism -- our belief that anything is possible -- with the realities of a world that will never fully bend to our will. In their struggles lie the seeds of American renewal today. Based on years of research, The Icarus Syndrome is a provocative and strikingly original account of hubris in the American century -- and how we learn from the tragedies that result.

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Customer Reviews

The Icarus Syndrome - J. Sutphen - Ocala, Florida USA
Absolutely the best buy and the book is one everyone should read. Knowing the past history of the US gives a true perspective on our attitudes toward the decisions made today in our government.

Hubris, yes, but unproven premises and simplistic arguments - Stuart L. Weiss - las vegas
One does not have to read far in Mr. Beinart's book to see that he makes subjective judgments about which wars are worth fighting. And where the comparisons should and should not be. He says there is no connection between Vietnam and Afghanistan,yet in both cases we (fought or)have been fighting in another country's homeland; sup-porting a corrupt government; and, I think he would agree, suffer-ing from the arrogance of power.

Then, too, in reference to Woodrow Wilson's foreign policy, he focuses on Wilson's admittedly unrealistic Fourteen Points, but he totally ignores our reasons for going to war. Yes, German subs sank our ships, but why were we fight for an unrealistic abstraction like "the freedom of the seas." He ignores pro-English sentiment in the South and Northeast, as well as the profit motive of not only manufacturers a later generation called "merchants of death," but the job interests of those employed in manufacturing weapons and munitions, and the rest of the nation that profited from good business. Furthermore, while Beinart spends endless time drawing attention to the "scientific" mentality of Wilson and progressives generally, he fails to note the fact that Wilson, a Presbyterian, might well have taken his cues from Matthew, Ch. 6., ie. Matthew or, if you prefer, Jesus says "For where your treasure is there will be your heart also." And later, but incorrectly, "No man can serve two masters... God and mammon," but that surely is what going to war in 1917 meant.

Then, too, though I have not yet read that far, questions must be asked about W. W. II. Why provoke war with Japan in the latter's sphere of interest when we would not allow dabbling in our sphere, eg. from the Monroe Doctrine to the Cuban missile crisis.

More later when and if I finish reading the book

A really great book - Samuel Dachs - Seattle, WA USA
A really interesting, well written thought provoking book---it is a must read for all of us, and certainly those in our government, who, unfortunately probably would

never read it, and if they did would not understand it. The book is a panoramic history of the United States from the time of Wilson to the time of Obama, noting our

successes and our failures in foreign policy and interventions and ends with some suggestions for our future actions. It is more than a history of hubris, it is a history

of successes as well as defeats and ends on a potentially optimistic hope for the future-

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Friday, August 27, 2010