Books: Why All Empires Come to Dust THE RISE AND FALL OF THE GREAT POWERS

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America's comparative decline in the international pecking order will not imply a lapse of national drive or purpose: "It simply has not been given to any one society to remain permanently ahead of all the others." Furthermore, enlightened leadership should be able to detect changing realities and thus prevent a slide from turning into a crash: "The only serious threat to the real interests of the United States can come from a failure to adjust sensibly to the newer world order." Not everyone will welcome or accept Kennedy's bittersweet verdict that the U.S. may become healthier in the long run by accepting its diminishing status gracefully. But until it is convincingly refuted by other theorists or the years ahead, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers stands as a fascinating response to ancient questions about the life- span of nations.