Ark of the Liberties: Why American Freedom Matters to the World

Ark of the Liberties recovers a long-forgotten success story: America’s lengthy and laudatory history of expanding world liberty. Our country’s decline in popularity over the past eight years has been nothing short of astonishing, and with wit, brilliance, and deep affection, Ted Widmer reminds us why this great nation had so far to fall. His sweeping history brims with new insights about America’s enduringly favorable relationship with the Middle East; why Woodrow Wilson’s presidency deserves reappraisal; the Democratic Party’s underappreciated foreign-policy achievements; and how the country’s long history of successfully advocating for and exporting liberty touches immediately on the choices we face in Iraq today. Ark of the Liberties romps through centuries of history—from America’s start as a fascinating virgin promised land to its present position as a world superpower—all the while reminding us of the necessity and nobility of our nation’s global ambitions.