Wednesday, April 27, 2005 | 12:00 AM
In this trenchant and provocative examination of the American way of empire, acclaimed author and historial Niall Ferguson ranges across the entire history of America's foreign entanglements, and delves into all the different dimensions of American power -- military, cultural, economic and political. The end result is a book whose conclusions are as convincing, and troubling, as they are original. Ferguson demonstrates that America has always been an empire in denial, and shows the fateful consequences of its special brand of imperialism. He also examines the challenges to the United States from its principal rivals for hegemony, the European Union and China, and -- perhaps more importantly -- offers a compelling analysis of the interconnection between the country's domestic economic health and its foreign affairs -- the bottom line of imperialism, American style.