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ratings: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Genre: History / Political Science / International Relations / Economics

Book Review:
Niall Ferguson, described by The Times as ''the most brilliant historian of his generation,'' has a gift for asking big questions and answering them in ways that are both provocative and illuminating. In Colossus, he asks the question that many Americans would rather avoid: Is the United States an empire? His answer is a resounding yes—and always has been. Ferguson traces America's imperial history from its westward expansion in the 19th century to its global dominance in the 20th. But he then asks a more urgent question: Is the American empire sustainable? His diagnosis is troubling. The US, he argues, is an empire running on empty, weakened by chronic deficits of money, manpower, and political will. When the New Rome falls, he warns, its collapse may come from within. The Daily Telegraph calls the book ''brilliant, revealing... something challenging, amusing or fresh on every page.'' The Literary Review says it's ''one of the timeliest and most topical books to have appeared in recent years.'' Whether you agree with Ferguson or not, this is a book that will make you think. Essential reading for anyone interested in American power and its future.