Home-page. Welcome!

We are now organizing events for the natonwide book tour for September and October.  Information will be posted here as they become firmed up. Check back often as new events are still being lined up!

Hi!  I'm Helena Cobban. This is the official website for my book Re-engage! America and the World After Bush, published by Paradigm Publishers in May 2008.

Re-engage! is the seventh book I've published on international issues-- and it's the one that I'm the most excited about.  I have worked hard, along with the talented people at Paradigm, to make the book a timely and  accessible guide to the big foreign-policy issues that face the United States at the end of the Bush era.  As I say at the beginning of the book's first chapter: "Our country’s relationship with the rest of the world is damaged and is in dire need of healing."

But Re-engage! is a hopeful book.  It shows how all U.S. citizens, not just those with advanced degrees in international relations, can start thinking about-- and acting upon-- the new kinds of challenge that face our country and the rest of the world today.

I am hopeful that building a better relationship with the rest of the world is possible. Since 9/11, I have traveled to 18 foreign countries on five continents; and everywhere I've gone I've found the citizens of those countries eager for the US to rejoin the international community-- but to do so on a basis of mutual respect, and out of a commitment to human equality rather than by acting unilaterally and mainly through military force, as has been our government's habit too frequently in recent years.

Early reaction to the book has been enthusiastic.

-- Rep. Lee H. Hamilton, President of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, described it as, "An impassioned, thought-provoking, and accessible brief from a highly esteemed journalist on how all of us - as individuals - can act to help better our country and world."

-- Vartan Gregorian, President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, said, "This is a book written by an indefatigable defender of democracy; a first-rate, prolific American journalist who knows the importance of trust, integrity and transparency; and who understands the difficult task of reconciling America’s national interests with those of many other countries that are our allies and our competitors as well as past—and possible future—adversaries.”

-- Amy  Kaplan, author of  The Anarchy of Empire in the Making of U.S. Culture, wrote, "Essential reading for anyone interested in healing America’s relation with the rest of the world in a post-Bush era. Cobban offers hard-hitting criticism and what’s more a refreshingly optimistic blueprint for how the United States can rejoin the global community to address the urgent problems shared by all the peoples of the world today."

--  Rami G. Khouri, Editor-at-large, The Daily Star, Beirut, Lebanon, wrote, "Helena Cobban's ... realistic and compelling proposal for a world where nations engage for collective well-being should challenge leaders and citizens alike to act sensibly, instead of selfishly. I applaud her vision and commend her book to all those who wonder how the world can ever emerge from this moment of crisis and instead enter an era of hope and wholesomeness. This small, daring book is a grand affirmation of the power of the human spirit."

--  Katrina Vanden Heuvel, Editor and Publisher of The Nation, commented: "Informative and accessible, this book, by one of America's most insightful international journalists, is essential reading for all sane and concerned citizens who seek to reengage on enlightened and humane terms with an increasingly complex and interdependent world.  The readable prose, combined with graphics, charts and resource materials, make this an ideal book to pass on to friends, family and colleagues who want a quick and smart guide to how the US can restore its political and moral position in the world!"

What will you say?  Once you've read the book, send us your reactions!

I invite you to learn more about Re-engage! by exploring the various parts of this website.  The site also has an associated weblog (blog) in which I and other writers will be providing updates on the issues covered in the book, and discussing them.  We invite you to read the blog, and to contribute to the discussions there.

                                                               

Click here to go to the Re-engage! news-and-discussion blog.

Click here for more information about  the Re-engage! book.

Here is the ordering information for the book.

Click here for more information about me, Helena Cobban.

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