If you loved

Books like Failed States

A relentless, heavily footnoted dismantling of American exceptionalism that leaves you questioning the foundations of global power. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Failed States.

sobering
alarming
intellectually rigorous
cynical

01
Hegemony or Survival
Noam Chomsky
A relentless, heavily footnoted dismantling of imperial benevolence that leaves you wide awake and deeply alarmed.
Shares:
- sobering
- intellectually rigorous
- critical
- analytical
02
Understanding Power
Noam Chomsky
A conversational but relentless dismantling of the political status quo that leaves you seeing the world through an entirely new, unvarnished lens.
Shares:
- sobering
- uncompromising
- analytical
- urgent
03
The end of America
Naomi Wolf · 2007
An urgent, step-by-step warning about the fragility of democracy and a passionate plea to defend civil liberties.
Shares:
- urgent
- abuse of power
04
Cia
William Blum
A relentless, meticulously documented dismantling of imperial mythology that leaves you deeply outraged and forever changed.
Shares:
- sobering
- cynical
- uncompromising
- abuse of power
05
The Assault on Reason
Al Gore
An urgent, methodical diagnosis of a democracy losing its grip on truth, and a rallying cry to reclaim the power of rational thought.
Shares:
- sobering
- analytical
- urgent
06
Fiasco
Thomas E. Ricks · 2005
A meticulously documented autopsy of hubris that reads like a slow-motion trainwreck.
Shares:
- sobering
- institutional failure
07
Dirty Wars
Jeremy Scahill
A gripping, dread-soaked descent into the hidden machinery of modern American warfare.
Shares:
- sobering
- critical
- urgent
08
Manufacturing consent
Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky · 1988
A relentless, paradigm-shifting dismantling of the stories we are told by those in power.
Shares:
- sobering
- intellectually rigorous
- cynical
- critical
09
A Problem from Hell
Samantha Power · 2002
A searing, meticulously documented indictment of global inaction in the face of ultimate evil.
Shares:
- sobering
- analytical
- urgent
10
War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
Chris Hedges
A haunting, erudite dismantling of the myths we tell ourselves about the glory of combat and the intoxicating poison of nationalism.
Shares:
- sobering
- urgent
11
Crossing the Rubicon
Michael C. Ruppert
A dread-soaked, interdisciplinary deep dive into the dark mechanics of global power, resource scarcity, and systemic corruption.
Shares:
- cynical
- analytical
- urgent
12
The bottom billion
Paul Collier · 2007
A sobering yet pragmatic deep dive into the structural traps that keep the world's poorest nations from thriving.
Shares:
- sobering
- analytical
- urgent

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