Time To Start Thinking: America and the Spectre of Decline

'Not only a wonderful tapestry of the current state of America, it provides a deeply insightful narrative of the origins of our current economic and political malaise' Liaquat Ahamed, author of Lords of Finance

America is a nation in long-term economic and geopolitical decline, and in this incisive and highly engaging book, Edward Luce looks at why, and where the country can go from here. Drawing on interviews with business and political leaders, from Bill Gates to ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, as well as ordinary teachers and workers, and covering areas from education and healthcare to politics, business and innovation, Luce delivers a brilliant analysis of the world's sole remaining superpower.

'Ranges far and wide . . . Luce has spoken to a terrific array of characters . . . Best of all are his vivid portraits of Americans struggling to get by' Mark Damazer, Financial Times

'A carefully balanced and often startlingly evocative analysis' John Gray, Observer

'Sober, clever, measured . . . What is so impressive about Luce's diagnosis of American decline is the quiet, methodical compilation of damning facts . . . At the heart is the story of a nation that, fattened by affluence, fell for its own propaganda' Dominic Sandbrook, Literary Review