Power Rules by Leslie H. Gelb

What exactly is power, and how does a nation obtain, nourish, use, or lose it? Gelb answers these questions from his unique perspective of having been a senior official in the U.S. State and Defense Departments under various administrations, a columnist at the New York Times, and President of the Council on Foreign Relations. Taking Machiavelli's The Prince as inspiration, Gelb offers advice to President Obama, top government officials, and citizens concerned about the United States' historical and current use of power (military, economic, intelligence, domestic, and stage-setting), and how the country, while still in a unique position as the dominant world power to solve international problems, is in danger of losing this position. Gelb cites years of neglect to our education system, infrastructure, foreign policy, and economy as major causes of the current weakening of U. S. power, and suggests means to turn the situation around before it is too late. These include a renewed focus on domestic well-being; a clear-eyed, bipartisan discussion free of extreme liberal and conservative obfuscation of what can be done, as opposed to what should be done; and a renewed commitment to international coalition-building stemming from use of various "carrots and sticks."

This book is an honest and balanced critique of current U.S. foreign policy, sparing neither Democrats nor Republicans, and is spiced with explanations of previous strategic successes and failures from a person who was there on the inside. As a basic introduction to international policy from a variety of schools of thought, the book works well in illuminating a complex subject that has grown increasing difficult to understand and at the same time increasingly neglected in attention from Washington, the news media, and the average citizen. Some mild profanity and descriptions of war and human rights abuses.