American National Security by Amos A. Jordan, William J. Taylor Jr., Michael J. Meese, and Suzanne C. Nielsen is a textbook on the U.S. national security environment and American national security policy and development.

As with most textbooks, it provides a good overview of its subject but does not get into much detail. The authors begin by explaining what national security policy is and what U.S. national security policy has been in the past. This is probably the best short summary of the history of American national security policy that you will find. They next section looks at the different actors in the national security arena, like the President, Congress, the military, etc. The next section of the book looks at the tools that these actors have at their disposal in order to carry out national security policy, such as economic and conventional and non-conventional military powers.

The fourth, and best, section of the book looks at the international and regional security issues facing the United States. The authors cover seven regions of the world separately: East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Russia, Europe, and Latin America. The authors discuss in turn what national security issues confront the U.S. within each region and how the U.S. has chosen to approach those issues.

The final section of the book looks at the issue of globalization and what current trends may mean for U.S. national security in the future.

American National Security is a good, not great, summary of American national security policy as it exists today. ( )