By Janice O’Brien
Maj. Gen. John L. Barry, USAF (Ret.), has spent much of his career working in environments where decisions carry consequences and easy answers are rarely available.
That experience shapes his approach to Power and Peril, a book that draws on history, leadership, national security, education, technology and institutional change to examine some of the challenges facing the United States in a rapidly evolving world.
Barry does not want readers to finish the book with a checklist of conclusions. He would rather they leave with better questions.
“If there is one purpose behind Power and Peril, it is not to tell readers what to think but to encourage them to be curious,” Barry said.
Barry served more than 30 years in the United States Air Force, rising to the rank of Major General. A fighter pilot, combat veteran and graduate of the USAF Fighter Weapons School, he held senior leadership positions during Desert Storm, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the military’s strategic transformation after the Cold War. As the Air Force’s lead strategic planner in the Pentagon, he survived the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
He later served as a board member and executive director of the Columbia Space Shuttle Accident Investigation following the 2003 loss of Columbia.
After retiring from the military, Barry brought his leadership experience into public education. He led Aurora Public Schools in Colorado, overseeing approximately 40,000 students and 60 schools. His work included an early concurrent enrollment initiative connecting high school students with opportunities to earn college credit and pursue workforce pathways.
Barry went on to serve as president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver and later as president and CEO of Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. His subsequent leadership roles have included the Air Force Historical Foundation and the National Aviation Hall of Fame.
Those experiences give Power and Peril a perspective that extends well beyond Barry’s military career. Throughout the book, he returns to questions that have followed him through several different chapters of his professional life: How do leaders respond to uncertainty? How do institutions adapt to rapid change? What can history teach us about challenges that initially appear unprecedented?
“Rather than predicting the future, I use history to provide perspective,” Barry said.
The book is organized in five broad movements. It begins by looking at leadership, government and constitutional structure before expanding to America’s place in a changing world. Later sections examine historical pressures on institutions, some of the major economic and technological challenges facing the country, and the importance of education, innovation, manufacturing, cybersecurity and civic engagement.
Barry describes the structure as similar to a strategic campaign plan, but the book is ultimately framed as an invitation to inquiry rather than a prediction of what comes next.
That distinction is important to him.
The issues explored in Power and Peril cross disciplines and rarely fit neatly into a single category. Technology can become an economic issue, a security issue and an education issue at the same time. Decisions about manufacturing can affect communities, national competitiveness and supply chains. Artificial intelligence raises questions not only about innovation but also about how organizations and individuals adapt when technology moves faster than established practices.
For Barry, history provides a way to put those changes into context.
“The issues explored in these pages, power, leadership, institutions, technology, security, and democracy, are too important to be viewed through the lens of slogans or partisan loyalty alone,” Barry said. “They deserve thoughtful inquiry and informed debate.”
That emphasis on inquiry also reflects Barry’s years in education. His intended audience extends beyond military or policy circles to educators, business leaders, students and readers interested in understanding how historical patterns can illuminate present-day challenges.
No background in constitutional law, military strategy or academic history is required. Barry’s goal is to make complex subjects accessible while encouraging readers to investigate them further.
A 1973 honor graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Barry holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Oklahoma. He served as a White House Fellow at NASA during the Challenger era and later studied national security leadership at Harvard Kennedy School. His honors include Colorado Superintendent of the Year, the White House Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award and the FAA Master Pilot Award.
Across those different experiences, Barry has repeatedly worked within organizations undergoing change, from the military and aerospace world to public schools and nonprofit institutions.
That may explain why Power and Peril is ultimately less interested in forecasting what will happen next than in asking how people and institutions prepare for what they cannot predict.
Barry’s outlook remains grounded in the idea that institutions can learn, adapt and endure.
“I believe America has repeatedly overcome extraordinary challenges because its institutions have proven remarkably resilient,” Barry said. “The question is whether we have the discipline, humility, and historical perspective to strengthen them for the next 250 years.”
His final challenge to readers is similarly straightforward: resist the temptation to expect history to provide perfect answers.
Instead, use it to ask better questions.
“If readers finish this book with more questions than answers, then I will have succeeded,” Barry said. “Curiosity is the beginning of wisdom.”
Power and Peril is available on Amazon.
