Part 1. Nation at war. People's war ; The great decoupling ; Tallying up -- Part 2. Warrior's plight. America's army ; Comes the revolution ; Searching for dragons to slay ; Coping with chaos -- Part 3. Skin in the game. Smedley and friends ; Winners and losers ; Trahison des clercs ; Droning on ; American characters.
Summary
Bacevich takes stock of the separation between Americans and their military, tracing its origins to the Vietnam era and exploring its pernicious implications: a nation with an abiding appetite for war waged at enormous expense by a standing army demonstrably unable to achieve victory. Rather than something for "other people" to do, Bacevich argues that national defense should become the business of "we the people."
