The Racket: A chronicle of chaos wrought by the US empire around the globe

The Racket by Matt Kennard, published by Bloomsbury Press.

Leila Sansour is a Catholic Palestinian-British filmmaker and TV producer. She is the founder and Chief Executive of Open Bethlehem, an initiative dedicated to promoting and preserving the life and heritage of Bethlehem. Additionally, she works as a regular freelance producer for ITN News. She writes in Middle East Eye:

Matt Kennard's The Racket, the second edition of which was published this summer, attempts to tackle head-on one of the most emotive questions of our political era: what kind of agent is the United States, and how do we deal with the negative effects of its overreach?

Speaking of a single principle that underpins all of Washington's global operations might sound crude. After all, empires are complex undertakings, even during times of power decline - but Kennard is assertive in his verdict: the US is best understood at the receiving end of its global dealings.

There, beyond the theatre of "liberal values" and "development and democracy programmes", emerges a simple nation with a lucid drive and an uncomplicated diet. You just have to observe it at close range.

To read on see: www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/us-racket-book-chronicles-chaos-wrought-empire-globe

The Racket is published by Bloomsbury press: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/racket-9781350422711/