Today, a host of forces are converging to challenge America's cherished notion of exceptionalism, and risky economic and foreign policies have steadily eroded the power structure that has been in place since the Cold War. Staggering under a huge burden of debt, the country must make some tough choices--or cede sovereignty to its creditors. In "The Reckoning," geostrategy analyst Michael Moran explores the challenges ahead--and what, if anything, can be done to prevent chaos as America loses its perch at the top of the mountain. He warns that the coming shift will have serious consequences not just for the United States, but for the wider world. Countries that have traditionally depended on the United States for protection and global stability will have to fend for themselves. Moran describes how, with a bit of wise leadership, America can weather the transition gracefully--by managing entitlements, reigniting sustainable growth, reforming immigration policy, and breaking the poisonous deadlock in Washington.