Claudio Taddei

Having as pivot the domestic and the foreign U.S. policy, the book is a history of our time, mostly of what happened in 2013 and 2014, including the big crisis, from the war in Ukraine (of which it offers a global report) to the conflict with the jihadist group ISIS. It is a fresh survey of U.S. politics, and because of that it is a unique input for the way it unites historical outlook and geopolitical current events.The book gets in the gears of U.S. politics. It tells the transformation of the United States in a social-democracy with large welfare and entitlements. It deals with the issues relevant to immigration;  the scope of the war against terrorism; the cyber threats. The topic of the book is not only politics. It pictures the uneven and confused, marked by disillusion, today’s America’s society.
 
A large part of the book concerns foreign policy. The choices of Putin’s Russia, imprinted by an historical pride; the power leverage in the Asia-Pacific region, and the tensions in the China seas; the policy of appeasement of the Obama government towards Iran, with the pass granted to the Iranian regime; the Middle East conflicts and Israel’s resilience; and also some shortcomings of the European Union, are among the subjects of the book. While defending Obama’s choices of prudence in foreign affairs, the book questions the adequacy of Obama’s ecumenism.
 
To look into myth and reality of U.S. politics means to set focus on the topic of America’s  role in the world. The book overturns the mainstream notions in Italy with regard  to Obama’s presidency. Obama is an icon of Europe’s left, and this has helped to overcome some misleading divisions. But in America Obama was a very partisan president and also a president who on decisive issues fell short of governance.
 
Always authoritative and documented, with a vibrant, sometimes fascinating narrative, with wide-ranging horizons, the book offers in a striking manner a point of view far away from commonplaces and biases. Meanwhile, following the global reach and the significance of the events, the book features the outlines of a glamorous, discontinuous and real America.