The rise in anti-Americanism is the most pressing challenge facing us. In America Against the World, Andrew Kohut and Bruce Stokes consider the surprising findings of the Pew Research Center's landmark survey of world opinion to understand why the world has turned against America. Where once we were considered the champion of democracy, we are now seen as a militant hyperpower. Kohut and Stokes reveal that from our business endeavors abroad to the war on terrorism, Americans' go-it-alone attitudes-in particular, our belief in personal responsibility and our unclouded optimism-have encouraged the world to view the United States as a bully and a threat. Former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright argues in her foreword that we cannot stop the spread of anti-Americanism without truly understanding who we are. America Against the World provides the insight to take that step. Book jacket.