The Price of Liberty

Paying for America's Wars from the Revolution to the War on Terror

Robert D. Hormats

Holt Paperbacks

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“Admirably comprehensive . . . The Price of Liberty shows that [Hormats] knows his history.”—Niall Ferguson, The Wall Street Journal
 
America’s first secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, identified the Revolutionary War debt as a threat to the nation’s very existence. Ever since, Hamilton’s principles for securing the country through sound finances have guided leaders from Madison and Lincoln to FDR and George H. W. Bush as they have fought to protect the United States—with the invention of the greenback, a progressive income tax, Victory Bond campaigns, and cost-sharing with allies.
 
In this bracing work of history, Robert D. Hormats, one of America’s leading experts on international finance, argues that the United States must realign its policies on taxes, defense spending, Social Security, Medicare, and oil dependency to safeguard the nation in the coming decades.

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Introduction
American history offers many political and economic lessons. But looking back over this nation’s more than two hundred years, one central, constant theme emerges: sound national finances have proved to be indispensable to the country’s military strength. Without the former, it is difficult over an extended period of time to sustain the latter. Generations of leaders have come to recognize that if the country chronically lives beyond its means or misallocates its financial resources, it risks eroding its economic base and jeopardizes its ability to fund its national security

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Praise for The Price of Liberty

"Bob Hormats has taken on the impossible: making lively history of the fiscal side of America’s wars. Taxes and spending, economics and politics, all mixed up together in times of national crisis, from the Revolution and Alexander Hamilton to Iraq and both George Bushes. There are lessons to be learned and too often forgotten, even for the financing of the new 'War on Terror.'"—Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve
 
"The Price of Liberty is both a superb history and an urgent call for appropriate fiscal policy in the current campaign against terrorism. Hormats shows that, time and again, how wars were paid for determined how wars were fought—and won or lost. An important and timely book."—David M. Kennedy, author of Freedom from Fear
 
"Robert Hormats mounts a compelling argument that America faces large-scale economic catastrophe due to lack of a long-term, fiscally sound strategy for meeting military and security needs as well as domestic obligations. The Price of Liberty is a fascinating book and its messsage is hard to ignore.—Henry Kissinger
 
“Hormats links economics with history and politics in a must-read for anyone who would understand the fundamentals of America's national security. Lucid and engrossing, The Price of Liberty provides a new and vital perspective for students of national security.”—General Wesley K. Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe

Reviews from Goodreads

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Ryan  rated it  
Jun 30, 2009
A must read for anyone who wants to understand a general history of US fiscal policy and how US wars have been financed since the country's inception.

The book was written in 2007 so much of the recent data are from 2005 and 2006, before we entered our current recession. But even in that ...more
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Ramberto  rated it  
Aug 20, 2008
This was a concise, well written, easily read history of how America pays for its wars; covering the Revolutionary War to the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. The most interesting lessons drawn from all this is that engaging in war is a very expensive proposition, and that paying for the conflict ...more
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Mike  rated it  
Apr 4, 2008
I just saw this author give a lecture with Richard Brookhiser at the New-York Historical Society, and although it was brief, the author gave an extremely cogent overview of how the U.S. paid, and is paying, for its wars. The book is engrossing and very highly recommended.

Wars are extremely ...more
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About the Author

Robert D. Hormats

Robert D. Hormats is the vice chairman of Goldman Sachs (International) and a managing director of Goldman, Sachs & Co. He has served in numerous presidential administrations and is a former member of the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations. His articles appear in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The New York Times, and Foreign Affairs. He lives in New York City.

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Available Formats and Book Details

The Price of Liberty
Paying for America's Wars from the Revolution to the War on Terror
Robert D. Hormats

Trade Paperback

Trade Paperback
Henry Holt and Co.
Holt Paperbacks
January 2008
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780805087239
ISBN10: 0805087230
5 3/4 x 8 15/16 inches, 368 pages
$18.00
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Hardcover

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Hardcover
Henry Holt and Co.
Times Books
May 2007
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780805082531
ISBN10: 0805082530
6 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches, 368 pages
$27.50

e-Book Agency

Learn more about this edition
e-Book Agency
Henry Holt and Co.
Times Books
May 2007
e-Book Agency
ISBN: 9781429928021
ISBN10: 1429928026
368 pages
$9.99
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