Book excerpt: In Delusions of Power, economic historian Robert Higgs calls into question our ingrained notions concerning the nature of the state and democracy. Higgs uproots the foundation stone upon which the state's powers have rested and grown unchecked by the public. Beginning with the Founding Fathers and moving forward, Higgs reassesses the world wars, the Great Depression and the New Deal, and the financial debacle that began in 2008 with the view of demonstrating Americans' loss of liberties. He brings together the crisis in policymaking; key political actors and events; and the impact of war on the economy and civil liberties. For Higgs, war, and the cost of it, has had a major impact of war on the economy and civil liberties. For Higgs, war, and the cost of it, has had a major impact on American life and freedom. Through reading Higg's work, one will gain a new understanding of the state's power, democracy, and the issues threatening the pursuit of liberty. Book jacket.