This compact but wide-ranging book provides an authoritative analysis of America’s retreat from the world under President Donald Trump. The book will help the reader understand why, under President Trump, respect for and trust in the United States have plummeted in most of the world—including in long-standing U.S. allies such as Germany.

New York Journal of Books

A masterpiece of thoroughgoing, humanely centered foreign policy analysis. Written with verve and critical insight, Gurtov’s latest book deserves serious attention from all citizens as well as specialists. And it comes at a moment in history when American democracy and diplomacy are being shattered by a renegade president. If we are faithful to Mel’s argument, America will return to global responsibility on nuclear weapons, climate change, human rights, and the rest of the human security agenda.

Daniel Ellsberg, author of Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers

With his usual acuity, Mel Gurtov sees beyond the fray. This book lays bare how President Trump’s improvisational foreign policy relates to his divisive domestic politics, elucidating how and why this has damaged Washington’s standing in the world—and what a post-Trump America might do to begin to repair it.

Carla P. Freeman, Johns Hopkins University

A timely and critical study of Donald Trump’s foreign policy, spotlighting the influences of his personality disorders—especially narcissism and lack of empathy—and his escalating confrontation with the world. Given the large gaps in Trump’s preparedness for the highest office, his ‘America First’ or ‘America Great’ slogan has become an ‘America Alone’ or ‘Trump First’ policy mantra with predictable negative consequences, as the title of this book makes clear. From a global-citizen, human-interest, and common-security perspective, Mel Gurtov concludes by appraising Trumpism, most importantly his administration’s impact on people and planet in an era of permanent war and climate crisis. His analysis is a must-read for all students of U.S. foreign policy and international relations as well as policy makers and an attentive public concerned about the shaping of a just and humane world order.

Samuel S. Kim, Columbia University