Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Again and again, American taxpayers are asked to open their wallets and pay for a national security machine that costs $1.25 trillion to operate. How is it possible that the United States Government gets it so wrong on so many critical issues, and so often? And if our expensive national security machine is not working, what can be done? Enter Thom Shanker, best-selling author and former New York Times editor, along with Andrew Hoehn, RAND SVP of Research and Analysis and former Pentagon official, who have not only decades of national security expertise between them, but access to virtually every expert with something valuable to say. Age of Danger looks at the major challenges facing America-from superpowers like Russia and China to emerging threats likepandemics, cybersecurity, climate change, and drones-and reimagines the national security apparatus into something that can truly keep Americans safe. After several decades focused primarily on the imminent threat of terrorism, it is time for America toonce again be forward-thinking in its national security before we lose pace with a new generation of threats. Weaving together expert analysis with exclusive interviews from a who's who of national security, including Robert Gates, Stanley McChrystal, Eric Schmidt, and Michael Leiter, Shanker and Hoehn argue that the United States must create an industrial-grade, life-saving machine out of a system that, for too long, was focused only on deterring adversaries and carrying out global military operations. It is a timely and crucial call to action, a call that if heeded, could save Americans lives, money, and our very future on the global stage"--,Provided by publisher.

"An urgent look at how America's national security machine went astray and how it fails to keep us safe—and what we can do to fix it. Again and again, American taxpayers are asked to open their wallets and pay for a national security machine that costs $1 trillion operate. Yet time and time again, the US government gets it wrong on critical issues. So what can be done? Enter bestselling author Thom Shanker and defense expert Andrew Hoehn. With decades of national security expertise between them and access to virtually every expert, they look at what’s going wrong in national security and how to make it go right. Age of Danger looks at the major challenges facing America—from superpowers like Russia and China to emerging threats like pandemics, cybersecurity, climate change, and drones—and reimagines the national security apparatus into something that can truly keep Americans safe. Weaving together expert analysis with exclusive interviews from a new generation of national security leaders, Shanker and Hoehn argue that the United States must create an industrial-grade, life-saving machine out of a system that, for too long, was focused only on deterring adversaries and carrying out global military operations. It is a timely and crucial call to action—a call that if heeded, could save Americans lives, money, and our very future on the global stage."--,Provided by amazon.