What can we learn from the demise of empires?

"Scorched Earth" review

Excerpt: "The author wisely draws no analogies with the world situation today, as we once again face war in Europe and the possibility of conflict in East Asia. Reading of the hard bargain Roosevelt drove with embattled Britain—exchanging valuable bases for some elderly destroyers—a reader can empathize with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky as he accepted Donald Trump’s proposal to swap minerals for military support. President Trump’s assertion that he can “make a deal” with Vladimir Putin seems disconcertingly similar to Roosevelt’s statement, after the Tehran Conference, that “I got along fine with Marshal Stalin. . . . I believe he is truly representative of the heart and soul of Russia.”

Closing this book, one looks again at the photograph on the cover, which shows the devastated German city of Cologne, with its ruined buildings and demolished bridges. The eye is drawn, however, to the majestic cathedral that towers, damaged but not destroyed, above the rubble. After all the suffering and bloodshed that “Scorched Earth” chronicles, the image provides a welcome note of beauty, resilience and hope."