The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris – Presidential Ambition, War, Tragedy, and the Wisdom That Follows

“Why do we succumb to hubris? Peter Beinart has written a highly intelligent and wonderfully readable book that answers the question by looking at a century of American foreign policy. As with everything Beinart writes, it is lucid, thoughtful and strikingly honest." - Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post-American World

“Peter Beinart has written a vivid, empathetic, and convincing history of the men and ideas that have shaped the ambitions of American foreign policy during the last century-a story in which human fallibility and idealism flow together. The story continues, of course, and so his book is not only timely; it is indispensible." - Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars

Peter Beinart, one of the nation's leading political writers, offers a provocative and strikingly original account of American hubris throughout history-and how we learn from the tragedies that result.