Brinkley oversaw economic rebuilding efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan as the top official at the Department of Defense, working to leverage the private sector and create hundreds of thousands of jobs. He details the challenges faced against bureaucratic policies and demonstrates some success despite failures. The lessons learned were then applied to rebuilding efforts in other nations like Pakistan, Rwanda, and Sudan. However, American foreign policy has left many in the Middle East and Africa disappointed with the economic support provided. Brinkley argues changes are needed in U.S. foreign policy to better rebuild economies impacted by conflict.