Book excerpt: An acclaimed historian offers an optimistic view of the future of the United States in the light of Roman history Maybe the end of the American ascendancy is not upon us. Maybe the U.S. will continue to dominate the world for centuries. Now award-winning historian Thomas Madden delivers an optimistic view of our nation's future. Madden shows that the power of the ancient Roman republic and the U.S. was built on trust between allies, not the conquest of enemies. The far-reaching implications of this fact are essential reading for anyone who cares about the challenges we face now and in the years ahead. Packed with stories from Roman history that offer amazingly obvious and explicitly stated parallels to our recent history, Empires of Trust is a narrative pleasure and a hopeful inspiration.