West of Honor — Jerry Pournelle

Sooner or later, all civilizations age and decline, grow senile and die -- either by conquest from without, or from internal rot. The final days of Western Civilization are signaled by the joining of the USA and the USSR into a ruthless and imperial state that spans first the Earth and then the Solar System. But, because it fails to hold the loyalty of its soldiers, it falters at the stars.

As well as carrying the CoDominium Future History into the galactic period, West of Honor introduces Jerry Pournelle's most important and influential character, John Christian Falkenberg.