{"product_id":"american-umpire-elizabeth-cobbs-hoffman-9780674055476","title":"American Umpire","description":"\u003cp\u003eCommentators frequently call the United States an empire: occasionally a benign empire, sometimes an empire in denial, and often a destructive empire. Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman asserts instead that, because of its unusual federal structure, America has performed the role of umpire since 1776, compelling adherence to rules that gradually earned collective approval. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis provocative reinterpretation traces America's role in the world from the days of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt to the present. Cobbs Hoffman argues that the United States has been the pivot of a transformation that began outside its borders and before its founding, in which nation-states replaced the empires that had dominated history. The \"Western\" values that America is often accused of imposing were, in fact, the result of this global shift. \u003ci\u003eAmerican Umpire\u003c\/i\u003e explores the rise of three values--access to opportunity, arbitration of disputes, and transparency in government and business--and finds that the United States is distinctive not in its embrace of these practices but in its willingness to persuade and even coerce others to comply. But America's leadership is problematic as well as potent. The nation has both upheld and violated the rules. Taking sides in explosive disputes imposes significant financial and psychic costs. By definition, umpires cannot win. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eAmerican Umpire\u003c\/i\u003e offers a powerful new framework for reassessing the country's role over the past 250 years. Amid urgent questions about future choices, this book asks who, if not the United States, might enforce these new rules of world order?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0674055470\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674055476\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harvard University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/04\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 448\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.74lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.48h x 6.44w x 1.26d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/14\/2013 pg. 52","brand":"Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48013777076479,"sku":"9780674055476","price":43.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_d78959c1-bf27-4da9-a639-a2c8c5b6cd64.jpg?v=1767744703","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/american-umpire-elizabeth-cobbs-hoffman-9780674055476","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}