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Jack F. Matlock
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Superpower Illusions: How Myths and False Ideologies Led America Astray—and How to Return to Reality Kindle Edition

by Jack F. Matlock Jr. (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 27 ratings
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“This persuasive, occasionally provocative book corrects a number of pervasive myths about the Cold War”—from the former U.S. ambassador to the USSR (Publishers Weekly).

In Superpower Illusions, Jack F. Matlock refutes the enduring idea that the United States forced the collapse of the Soviet Union by applying military and economic pressure—with wide-ranging implications for U.S. foreign policy. Matlock argues that Gorbachev, not Reagan, undermined Communist Party rule in the Soviet Union and that the Cold War ended in a negotiated settlement that benefited both sides. He posits that the end of the Cold War diminished rather than enhanced American power; with the removal of the Soviet threat, allies were less willing to accept American protection and leadership that seemed increasingly to ignore their interests.

Matlock shows how, during the Clinton and particularly the Bush-Cheney administrations, the belief that the United States had defeated the Soviet Union led to a conviction that it did not need allies, international organizations, or diplomacy, but could dominate and change the world by using its military power unilaterally. Superpower Illusions is “a truly remarkable book, both wise and provocative, telling a sad yet instructive story of how the United States failed to exploit a triumph in the Cold War to build a new international order reflecting U.S. interests and principles” (Dimitri Simes, President and CEO, The Center for the National Interest).

“A well written, clearly reasoned and thoroughly informed tour of the past half century of American diplomacy—including the roots of its successes and failures—led by a superbly qualified participant. A brilliant book.”—Sidney Drell, Stanford University

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  2. Language
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    Yale University Press
  5. Publication date
    January 5, 2010
  6. File size
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This persuasive, occasionally provocative book corrects a number of pervasive myths about the Cold War, including the beliefs that it ended with the fall of the Soviet Union and that the U.S. effectively won. The text, which is as much a work of historiography as history, re-examines Soviet-American diplomacy of the 1980s to reassess the key decisions made by Reagan and Gorbachev that led to a thawing of relations between the two countries. Matlock, American ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1987 to 1991, reassesses the transition to the post–Cold War era, critiquing analyses of Francis Fukuyama, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and Samuel P. Huntington that perniciously oversimplified the complexities of the changing geopolitical landscape. Surveying policy as well as theory, the author criticizes Clinton for unclear foreign policy goals, but reserves his harshest assessment for Bush, positing that the September 11 attacks could have been prevented if a competent, alert administration had been in office. Matlock is refreshingly free of partisanship and concludes on a hopeful note, suggesting that Obama possesses the same pragmatism that made Reagan an effective and successful leader of American foreign policy. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Matlock offers keen insights on how we should present and position our nation in the future."—Sean N. Kalic, Military Review (Sean N. Kalic Military Review)

“A well written, clearly reasoned and thoroughly informed tour of the past half century of American diplomacy—including the roots of its successes and failures—led by a superbly qualified participant. A brilliant book.”—Sidney Drell, Stanford University

(Sidney Drell)

"Few people had a better vantage point from which to observe the end of the Cold War than Ambassador Jack Matlock. . . . His biography alone makes this account of the end of the Cold War essential reading, but what makes it even more compelling is Matlock's thesis that America's latest foreign policy blunders can be traced all the way back to the end of the Cold War. . . . Since the myth of America's 'victory' over the Soviet Union in the Cold War remains an article of faith for many, it is especially valuable that one of its chief protagonists has now so painstakingly dismantled it."—Nicolai N. Petro, The Russian Review (Nicolai N. Petro The Russian Review 2010-09-01)

“A major contribution to our understanding of how American readings of the course of the Cold War . . . have influenced American foreign policy since 1993. Matlock shows in convincing detail why these readings are fundamentally wrong and, in a reasoned argumentative voice, dangerous for the national interests of the United States.”—Allen Lynch, University of Virginia

(Allen Lynch)

"A truly remarkable book, both wise and provocative, telling a sad yet instructive story of how the United States failed to exploit a triumph in the Cold War to build a new international order reflecting U.S. interests and principles."— Dimitri Simes, President, The Nixon Center

(Dimitri Simes)

"Avoiding partisanship and personal agenda, Matlock uses his experience as a seasoned diplomat to deliver a powerful critique of US foreign policy over the last 30 years. Superpower Illusions is at times scathing, always insightful, and long overdue."—Susan Eisenhower, author of Partners in Space: US-Russian Cooperation after the Cold War
(Susan Eisenhower)

“This book is as close as we may come to understanding the distortions ideology played in misunderstanding the Cold War and in applying those distortions thereafter. This is an extraordinary work which should become a standard reference for practitioners, scholars, and concerned citizens for decades to come.”—Gary Hart, Former United States Senator (Ret.), Co-chair, Commission on U.S.-Russian Relations

(Gary Hart)

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00492CRVU
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press (January 5, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 5, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2530 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 458 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 27 ratings

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Jack F. Matlock

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
27 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Thomas E. Blackburn
5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond convenient fiction
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2010
Verified Purchase
Golly, I wish everyone would read this book. Mr. Matlock, whom I have never met, was our last ambassador to the Soviet Union. He was there when it broke up, and he wrote a book, Autopsy On An Empire, that combined eyewitness journalism with sound history. Even though you had just read what happened in the newspaper, his book was compelling, not only for the new stuff in it but for the clarity with which Matlock told the story. OK. That was history. Superpower Illusions is the after-action report on lessons learned. "Lessons we should have learned" would be a better term for it. The same people who gave Ronald Reagan the bad advice he ignored in dealing with Mikhail Gorbachev have concocted a myth in which their ideas (of course), as executed by Reagan, won the Cold War. Matlock, who was there, says Reagan followed his own ideas, and nobody "won" the Cold War in a conventional sense. Both sides came out ahead. The comic book version of history had a foul influence on the Clinton administration and a disastrous influence on Bush II. It's really time we get over it because if we can get our history right maybe we can make good decisions in foreign affairs and national security matters that we have been ignoring or screwing up for 17 years. That is kind of important.
12 people found this helpful
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Richard Lane
5.0 out of 5 stars Matlock names persons and policies.
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2015
Verified Purchase
Ambassador Matlock was in the middle of US-Russian relations for many years, so he gives an insider's view of what went on. As a Russian area specialist and Russian speaker, he understood each side's misperceptions and did his best to correct them. The dilettantes who have been named in his stead should have read his books before they took up their positions. Their failure to so can be seen in the present situation. Bush I, Clinton, Bush II and Obama have so consistently missed opportunities for better relations with Moscow and instead missed no opportunity to worsen them, we can see a pattern. Their vilification of Putin is totally misplaced, as is their unwillingness to see the world outside the perspective of the military-industrial-congressional complex. US triumphalism- claiming it won the Cold War, expaning NATO, attempting to reorient Georgia, and now arming of Ukraine with "defensive" weapons- evidences a long-term bipartisan effort to ignite a new Cold War. Matlock shows it was not inevitable and who was responsible.
10 people found this helpful
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X. Z.
5.0 out of 5 stars Best analysis of Russia- U.S. relations
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2010
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This is one of the best analysis of Russian-American relations and what went wrong. I only wish people like Matlock advised Obama, unfortunetely it's not him but the people who "got Russia wrong" are Obama's consultants on Russia. This book is a great analysis of the Cold War and why Russia-U.S. relations went sour after the end of it. The myth of wining the Cold War is at the heart of America's problems with present day Russia. Why is it so hard to understand that if not for Gorby there would not be the end of it? It was not the America who is responsible for the end of the Cold War, it was an initiative of Gorbachev and intellectuals around him - Politbureu had no intentions of becoming "friends with the U.S.". Bravo Matlock! Great Book!
10 people found this helpful
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Eclectic mystery reader
5.0 out of 5 stars But this is a very powerful and thought-provoking look at the direction of American policy and its sad mistakes in the years sin
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2014
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Since the retirement of George Kennan, the US has not had a more astute diplomat specializing in Soviet and post-Soviet affairs than Jack Matlock. His words of caution and of prescience (see what he has to say about Crimea in 2009) should not go unheeded, but unfortunately have done so for the most part.

His optimism over incoming President Obama's new approach to American diplomacy has sadly proven to be unfounded. But this is a very powerful and thought-provoking look at the direction of American policy and its sad mistakes in the years since the administration of President George Bush. Anyone seeking a different view of how American should direct its foreign policy should read this book.
5 people found this helpful
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Djuro Zrilic
5.0 out of 5 stars This is honestly written book which American public deserve. ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2014
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This is honestly written book which American public deserve. Opposite to media writing, this book is down to the truth. This book is vital reading for Americans who care about truth and the future of American foreign policy. Mr. Matlock is the intellectual giant, modest, and down the earth. America is lucky to have such man, and I hope American foreign policy makers will read this book and learn something from it. Dr. Djuro George Zrilic
One person found this helpful
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Alexandre Scherer
5.0 out of 5 stars U.S. Foreign Policies between 1980 and 2010
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2018
Verified Purchase
Insightful analysis of how the U.S. adjusted to a world where the Soviet Empire ceased to exist. What it did well and what it did not do so well. I highly recommend.
2 people found this helpful
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newinvestor
5.0 out of 5 stars newinvestor
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2010
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Anyone who is politically aware should read this book. It is an incisive, brilliant review of our recent history and has concrete suggestions for improvement of our foreign policy by one of the greatest minds of these times.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Kurt Gayle
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book in which a former U
Reviewed in Canada on October 11, 2014
Verified Purchase
An excellent book in which a former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, Jack Matlock, demolishes central myths that have distorted America's recent foreign policy -- including the idea that the United States destroyed Communism and defeated the Soviet Union in the Cold War. Ambassador Matlock argues that the Cold War ended in a negotiated selttlement that benefitted both sides.
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