Across multiple administrations since the end of the Cold War, American foreign policy has been misconceived, inconsistent, and poorly implemented. As a result, America and the free world have fallen behind their rivals in power and influence. Meanwhile, threats to security, freedom, and prosperity, including nuclear proliferation and jihadist terrorism, have grown. In Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World, H.R. McMaster lays out a comprehensive indictment of a quarter century of flawed policies and strategies, told from his perspective as a soldier, commander, scholar, and national security advisor. A central theme of the book is what he calls “Strategic Narcissism” — a mind-set that all too often leads presidents and their advisors to craft policies based on wishful thinking and to define problems as one may like them to be rather than to understand them on their own terms. Overcoming Strategic Narcissism, McMaster argues, is critical to defending America and the free world from grave and developing threats.