The rise and fall of ancient Rome has been on American minds from the beginning of their republic. Today Americans focus less on the Roman Republic than on the empire that took its place. Depending on who's doing the talking, the history of Rome serves as either a triumphal call to action or dire warning of imminent collapse.
The esteemed editor and author, Cullen Murphy, ventures past the pundits' rhetoric to draw nuanced lessons about how America might avoid Rome's demise. Working on a canvas that extends far beyond the issue of an overstretched military, Murphy reveals a wide array of similarities between the two empires: the blinkered, insular culture of America's capitals; the debilitating effect of venality in public life; the paradoxical issue of borders; and the weakening of the body politic through various forms of privatisation. He persuasively argues that America most resembles Rome in the burgeoning corruption of its government and in its arrogant ignorance of the world outside - two things that are in America's power to change.
