We'll Be Back

Kurt Schlichter, a veteran, lawyer and commentator, mixes satire with pointed argument in this book. He takes aim at the progressive movement he sees as blocking a patriotic revival in the United States, mocking it with laughter and scorn while making a case for national renewal. Readers who enjoy Mark Levin, Matt Walsh or Ben Shapiro may find the tone familiar.

The book begins with the 1991 campaign against Iraq, when the wreckage of Saddam Hussein's regime showed the strength of American arms and the country looked ahead to a long period of peace and prosperity. Three decades later, a makeshift Taliban force had driven American troops out of Afghanistan in a humiliating retreat, and cities at home were burdened by homelessness and crime. Schlichter asks how the nation fell so far and whether its present weakness must last.

Schlichter, who served with the American forces that toppled Iraq's dictator in 1991, does not sugarcoat the situation. He lays out the dangers ahead, including subjugation by China, the failures of socialism and the possibility of civil war. Yet he argues that decline is a choice rather than a fixed fate, one the nation does not have to make.

Written in a mix of dry, funny and sharply analytical prose, the book holds that Americans' resilience is far from exhausted and that the ingredients of greatness are still present. Schlichter expects a counterattack against the forces of decline is coming, but he makes no promises. What he offers instead is hope.