Today, scholars and activists are grappling with the problem of insecurity, from Johannes Voelz’s 2017 The Poetics of Insecurity to Astra Taylor’s 2023 manifesto, The Age of Insecurity. The turn to insecurity is hardly surprising. In the decades since 9/11, America and its allies have mired themselves in destructive wars, wasting blood and treasure in a futile search for security. Castronovo’s book is an exceptional addition to this growing literature. He effortlessly deconstructs the conceptual model (“securitization”) prevalent in international relations and political studies by turning it inside out. Instead of rehearsing the story of the nation-state and its external enemies, he offers a cultural history of homeland vulnerability. With considerable erudition, American Insecurity documents the rise of homo secures, “the subject of security” who “experiences vulnerability over the fact that so many facets of life are deemed insecure and in need of securitization” (p. 230).