Acknowledgements -- Table of Contents -- Introduction. Empires and Political Freedom -- 1. Birth of a Republic -- 2. Military Glory and the Course of Honor -- 3. The Struggle of the Orders and the Rise of the Nobility -- 4. The New Roman Legion and the Conquest of Italy -- 5. The Republic Acquires an Empire -- 6. Origins of the American Empire -- 7. The Open Empire -- 8. The Price of Empire -- 9. Spain: Guerrilla War and Political Dissent -- 10. The Brothers Gracchi and the Limits of Reform -- 11. Clash of the Titans -- 12. The American Empire at War -- Conclusion. Breaking the Bonds of Empire -- Bibliography -- Index.