Drift

The Unmooring of American Military Power

By: Rachel Maddow

Narrated by: Rachel Maddow

The #1 New York Times bestseller that charts America’s dangerous drift into a state of perpetual war.

"One of my favorite ideas is, never to keep an unnecessary soldier," Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1792. Neither Jefferson nor the other Found­ers could ever have envisioned the modern national security state, with its tens of thousands of "privateers"; its bloated Department of Homeland Security; its rust­ing nuclear weapons, ill-maintained and difficult to dismantle; and its strange fascination with an unproven counterinsurgency doctrine.

Written with bracing wit and intelligence, Rachel Maddow's Drift argues that we've drifted away from America's original ideals and become a nation weirdly at peace with perpetual war, with all the financial and human costs that entails. To understand how we've arrived at such a dangerous place, Maddow takes us from the Vietnam War to today's war in Afghanistan, along the way exploring the disturbing rise of executive authority, the gradual outsourcing of our war-making capabilities to private companies, the plummeting percentage of American families whose children fight our constant wars for us, and even the changing fortunes of G.I. Joe. She offers up a fresh, unsparing appraisal of Reagan's radical presidency. Ultimately, she shows us just how much we stand to lose by allowing the priorities of the national security state to overpower our political discourse.

Sensible yet provocative, dead serious yet seri­ously funny, Drift will reinvigorate a "loud and jangly" political debate about how, when, and where to apply America's strength and power--and who gets to make those decisions.

Every American should listen to this book.

Would you listen to Drift again? Why?

Yes. It underscores a problem that few in our political class will even recognize, much less address with any courage. The most important factor of Maddow's thesis is that the problem can be fixed--we have the means, we just need the political will. It is a stark, deliberate accusation that lands on both sides of the aisle of Congress.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Colin Powell.

Have you listened to any of Rachel Maddow’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This long form suits Rachel Maddow's prose as well as the short form of her television and radio shows.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

There are so many, it's hard to choose. The most important piece is that in the past we have attempted with some success to guard against the unmoored

Any additional comments?

Every American who cares about the men and women of our military, the position of our country in the world, and foreign policy in general should read this book.

Great Book

Would you listen to Drift again? Why?

Yes to absorbe even more

What other book might you compare Drift to and why?

none

What about Rachel Maddow’s performance did you like?

thing compares

Any additional comments?

best non fiction I have read in a long time

Well researched and well written

If you could sum up Drift in three words, what would they be?

Enlightening. Shocking. Smart.

What about Rachel Maddow’s performance did you like?

The enthusiasm she shows in front of the camera also comes across in the book.

Any additional comments?

I'm in awe of Rachel Maddow's ability to synthesize so much complex information and communicate it in an easy-to-understand way. I was a kid during Iran-Contra, and never really understood what it was about, and now I do!

Elegant, fluid, funny, scary.....

Often political books are dry, pushing some agenda, this one balances decades of political manipulation into a very addictive book. I am so please Rachel narrated it, that was another plus. Well done Rachel, more please!

I Love RM

If you have not been paying attention attention to currents events in the past several decades, this is a non-partisan catch-up that will leave you wondering how you could have missed so much. And even if you have been paying attention, you still might wonder the same thing. Rm gives us the salient information without ever getting lost in partisan minutia.

Excellently narrated by RM. Listening to her read is like... well, like listening to RM herself.