Is America really in decline? What the world look like if American power weakened? Would it be a softer, gentler place? Would it be chaos? Would it be totalitarian, with state-led capitalism running the world economy?

Robert Kagan takes on these questions in his latest book The World America Made. It’s 160 pages packed with insight, analysis and opinions.

And I really enjoyed it. As Independence Day approaches it seems good to read a book like this because it is unwavering in its appreciation for America. It’s not silly rah rah type stuff; the author fully acknowledges America’s weaknesses and mistakes. But he puts those shortcomings in context and helps us understand just how uniquely wonderful the country really is.

Kagan understands that we face serious issues in the years ahead. He’s not trying to downplay any of that. But he is a strong counter balance to the doomsday words of Thomas Friedman and others. He challenges the assumptions of people like Fareed Zakaria and says “hold on” to the idea that we’re entering a post-American world.

Perhaps my favorite part is when he dissects the idea of political and economic “progress”. He takes on those who claim that liberal democracies and economic freedom are here to stay forever and that they are the natural development of centuries of human progress. No, Kagan says, they are in fact an anomaly and can easily disappear if we don’t take the time to protect them. He makes a compelling argument. We get caught up in the idea of human progress, when in truth human history is filled with rise and falls, progress and decline.

I could get into all of the ins and outs of this book … and I’d actually enjoy doing that. But you should just read it. Let it remind you what a great country we live in, how our challenges are no more daunting than the ones we’ve faced before, and how a spirit of negativity in this country is going to spiral us downward more than any economic or political issue. I really hope that a lot of people read this book — especially people in their 20’s who seem programmed to believe the future is bleak.

Kagan is reminding us of all that we have to be proud of and how terrible things would be if America was not central to it all. It’s a great book for the 4th of July!