The work argues that the United States has become too involved in foreign affairs, and should refrain from interventionism, both military and diplomatic, in favor of focusing on domestic issues.

[1] Central to the book's argument is that the United States should follow the foreign policy philosophy espoused by George Washington, that of noninterventionism and a focus instead on domestic issues.

[2] In contrast, he contends that former presidents such as Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Bill Clinton sought "liberal internationalism" in which the United States would be part of worldwide governing bodies.

"[1] He also argues that America's trade deficit has enriched countries with interests contrary to those of the United States, citing the example of China's providing Russia with military equipment.

[1] He defends the United States' "tearing away of the Southwest and California from Mexico", deeming criticism of the act "but another lie in the Blame America First series".

[2] The American Prospect critiqued the book for its speculative sections on World War II, arguing that said passages feature "so much what-if thinking that some right-wing university should give him an honorary degree in Ifology".

[1] Writing for The New York Times, John B. Judis called the book "the work of a right-wing crank" and argued that Buchanan's views on foreign policy were more appropriate for the nineteenth century than for the twenty-first.