Education is in a state of collapse, debt is spiraling, income discrepancies are on the rise, the elite are concerned only with their own prosperity, trials and disputes bridle all creativity, cities are in decay, jobs are fragile, youth has only drugs for a future: the signs of the breakdown of the American empire are numerous. This book is a portrait of a country that has sacrificed its social cohesion and its values by striving for economic dynamism at any price -- and also a warning to France not to succumb to the sirens that have seduced so many generations of Americans!Edward N. Luttwak is an expert in strategy and economy for numerous official organizations in the United States and in Europe.