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Title: Colossus: The Price of America's Empire this book was written in 2004 by
Niall Ferguson
Ferguson is a scottish author and historian that specializes in international, economic,
and imperialistic history. The subject of this book is the USA's expansion.
Ferguson argues that the USA is an empire citing the fact that it is now 92% larger
than it was when it first became independant. the summary of the book is that the united
states and its citizens is an empire in denial. Ferguson claims that america's empire is not
based off of the British imperialistic model He is quick to tell the reader that he is
a supporter of empires and believes that the United States should be supported if it were
to intervene in an inexplicably poor country such as Liberia. the author claims that the
USA is not an empire based on conquest, it is an empire purchased with cash or government
bonds. an example of this is the louisiana purchase from the French and the Guadalupe
Hildalgo purchase from mexico (which gave the USA texas, california, and more)
USA's imperialistic ways also manifested theirselves at sea as they obtained territories such as
Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and, for a time, the Phillipines. The author also argues that the
United states entered World War 1, not due to the sinking of the Lusitania, but because
Germany was attempting to convince Mexico to try to obtain some of the United State's
former colonies, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Ferguson cites Vietnam as an area of failure
because the United States was trying too hard to prove that it was not imperialistic and
it left too quickly after the conflict ended, he argues that South Vietnam expected the
United States to stay there and help get them back on their feet but the US left too quickly
in an attempt to destroy any notion of imperialism. Ferguson's text possesses numerous strengths
however the most important is that it really challenged my viewpoints on numerous issues.
The book proved to me, via facts and strong arguments, that the United States is an imperialistic
power. Ferguson excellently incorporates graphs and
data tables that, coupled with the vast array of knowledge conveyed in the book, make it
very difficult to put down. The one major weakness of the is text is that Ferguson clearly
displays his political views. I am not at all political but if I were to classify myself,
I would say that I am a moderate republican but Ferguson makes his conservative views
too clear when he discusses the Iraq war and his comments in this section of the book make
me question whether the entire book is bias. On top of all of this, I would recommend the
book because it is very interesting, it challenged my viewpoints, and conveyed the author's point
factually and convincingly to help prove to me that the United States of America is, in
fact, an empire.
The passage that I chose for dramatic reading is in the introduction of the text. It excellently
displays the author's viewpoints, incorporates examples, and sets the stage for the rest
of the book.