“An eminent scholar of East Asia, a former CIA consultant, and a Navy veteran, Johnson borrows a term from intelligence jargon for the book's title: "Blowback" refers to circumstances in which a state's clandestine policies yield unanticipated public consequences damaging to that state's interests. In a book combining a well-supported argument with the personal concern and insight of hard-earned wisdom, Johnson argues that moves to maintain a Cold War military posture even after the decline and collapse of the Soviet bloc have "blown back" on the US.”