In On Dangerous Ground, Gregory B. Poling evaluates US interests in the world’s most complex and dangerous maritime disputes by examining more than a century of American involvement in the south China sea. He focuses on how the disputes there intersected and eventually intertwined with the longstanding US commitment to freedom of the seas and its evolving alliance network in Asia. He shows that these abiding national interests-defense of maritime rights and commitment to allies, particularly the Philippines – have repeatedly pulled US attention to the South China Sea. Understanding how and why is critical if the US and its allies hope to chart a course through the increasingly fraught disputes while facing a more assertive, more capable, and far less compromising China.