Cat 5
The 2033 War
Will be published approx. on 13. August 2026
Book
Hardback
216 pages
979-8-89565-652-5 (ISBN)
Description
Learn from losing three wars—or lose the next one in 2033.
Bing West is the only historian to serve on the front lines in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan—and at the highest levels of government. He fought in the battles he writes about, and he explains with firsthand insight why our grunts won the fights, but our presidents lost the wars. The cause, he argues, was hubris. Presidents and policymakers believed the nation was too powerful to fail. That same conceit now threatens America itself. Our elected leaders have hollowed out the military while expanding entitlements to buy votes. The result is a weakened defense and a debt approaching collapse.
By 2033, two forces—our unsustainable debt and China’s ambition—will collide in a Category 5 storm. Drawing on six decades of combat and policy experience, West shows how America arrived at this perilous moment and how to deal with a disaster of our own making. Cat 5: The 2033 War is a soldier’s warning and a historian’s verdict—an unflinching account of national pride, political failure, and the storm closing in. For the first time in our history, we face economic convulsion and confrontation with a mortal adversary—before a single shot is fired.
Bing West is the only historian to serve on the front lines in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan—and at the highest levels of government. He fought in the battles he writes about, and he explains with firsthand insight why our grunts won the fights, but our presidents lost the wars. The cause, he argues, was hubris. Presidents and policymakers believed the nation was too powerful to fail. That same conceit now threatens America itself. Our elected leaders have hollowed out the military while expanding entitlements to buy votes. The result is a weakened defense and a debt approaching collapse.
By 2033, two forces—our unsustainable debt and China’s ambition—will collide in a Category 5 storm. Drawing on six decades of combat and policy experience, West shows how America arrived at this perilous moment and how to deal with a disaster of our own making. Cat 5: The 2033 War is a soldier’s warning and a historian’s verdict—an unflinching account of national pride, political failure, and the storm closing in. For the first time in our history, we face economic convulsion and confrontation with a mortal adversary—before a single shot is fired.
More details
Language
English
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
331 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-89565-652-5 (9798895656525)
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Person
Bing West is a Marine combat veteran, historian, and former Assistant Secretary of Defense. He fought with infantry units in Vietnam and later served as an advisor to American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. West’s books on those wars—including The Village, No True Glory, and The Wrong War—are taught at military academies and praised for their realism and insight. A graduate of Georgetown and Princeton, he has served in the Pentagon and the White House.
In Cat 5: The 2033 War, West draws on six decades of experience in battle and government to warn how America’s debt, division, and complacency are eroding its power. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife, Betsy, and continues to write about national security and leadership in times of crisis.
In Cat 5: The 2033 War, West draws on six decades of experience in battle and government to warn how America’s debt, division, and complacency are eroding its power. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife, Betsy, and continues to write about national security and leadership in times of crisis.