The American novelist living in Europe and the British historian living in America are in broad agreement. According to Gore Vidal, the American Empire died in September 1985 when the country became a debtor, because 'like most modern empires, ours rested not so much on military prowess as on economic primacy.' The last chapters of Paul Kennedy's epic study suggest that American power is subsiding relative to other powers rather than dying.

LRB 19 May 1988 | PDF Download