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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
A very timely read. Can't tell where this revision differs all that much from the earlier book. Given the latest debacle of our government over the debt ceiling and the subsequent downgrade of our credit rating by S&P, this book is quite prescient in talking about the failure of our political system. Zakaria compares and contrasts America and Great Britain as superpowers. While Britains's decline was due to economic weakness, they were able to stall it for 70 years due to superior diplomacy and politcal acumen. The US is in the exact opposite position. He came to this country in bad times, early 1980's, and we need to take a hard look at all the chicken little's calling for doom and gloom. We also need to realize that manufacturing jobs aren't coming back. The world is changing. Good chapters on India and China. Just a thoughtful, balanced book about America. Just reinforces his excellent Sunday show on CNN.
Didn't read all of it, but it was a good introduction to the impact of globalization on world politics.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I was assigned this book in uni during the year that Trump was elected in 2016. It wasn’t until 2020 where I read it in its entirety, and in terms of timing (this edition was published in 2012), it was incredibly fascinating to see how Zakaria’s theories measured up against time—specifically how eerily accurate he is about global economic trends, the nature of American politics, and the shift in American international policies.
I noticed a point of contention and misunderstanding that has caused incendiary reactions among certain readers (**cough cough** American readers) has to do with the title of the book. The phrase “post-American world” does not equate to an anti-American world. The main premise of the book is that over the past few decades we have been witnessing genuinely global growth leading to an international system where countries worldwide are no longer just observers but players in their own right. This idea that the global word order is shifting to a hybrid international system—more democratic, more dynamic, more open, more connected, and one defined and directed from many places and by many people. The “rise of the rest”.
The book is information-rich, well-argued, thought-provoking, and considering the geopolitical “status quo”— it is provocative. The best non-fiction books are.
I noticed a point of contention and misunderstanding that has caused incendiary reactions among certain readers (**cough cough** American readers) has to do with the title of the book. The phrase “post-American world” does not equate to an anti-American world. The main premise of the book is that over the past few decades we have been witnessing genuinely global growth leading to an international system where countries worldwide are no longer just observers but players in their own right. This idea that the global word order is shifting to a hybrid international system—more democratic, more dynamic, more open, more connected, and one defined and directed from many places and by many people. The “rise of the rest”.
The book is information-rich, well-argued, thought-provoking, and considering the geopolitical “status quo”— it is provocative. The best non-fiction books are.
Am amazing book that has reawaken a passion for current affairs and political science I have not felt for some time. It is remarkably easy to read while still containing a wealth of information and incite. More than any of that, it has fed a hunger in me to be a part of America's future in our changing world.
Excellent book! 4.5 stars because it was written in 2012, pre-Trump, and needs to be updated to include the current ridiculousness.
IQ "But learning from the rest is no longer a matter of morality or politics. Increasingly it's about competitiveness" pg. 225
I find it eerie that I reviewed the first edition of this book around the same time (July 4, 2011) as I'm about to review this updated version. Coincidence? I think not. And I found new quotes to use (I only double-checked after I'd finished the 2.0 book). Anyway I chose the quote I did because I think I often believed the reason we need to learn from other countries is because it's polite, tolerant, moral, justice. But that one sentence (as silly as this may sound) honed home the point that better explains why its so important we study other cultures for those who don't buy the moral argument. Its a SMART thing to do. My only real issue with this book is that I didn't feel it was fully updated, it didn't focus as much on the Great Recession as I would have liked.
This book is a feel-good kind of book and that's not a bad thing. I found that it keeps things real, knocks Americans off their high horse while not being mired in pessimism. It also makes me feel better about being an IR major because the author still sees the need for more diplomats and policy wonks so let's hope he's right. Another great quote, "There is a fundamental tension in U.S. foreign policy, Does the country want to push its own particular interests abroad, or does it want to create a structure of rules, practices and values by which the world will be bound? In an age of rising new powers, the United States' overriding goals should be the latter-so that even as these countries get more powerful, they will continue to live within the framework of the current international system" (pg. 263) as designated by laws and such. Preach!
I find it eerie that I reviewed the first edition of this book around the same time (July 4, 2011) as I'm about to review this updated version. Coincidence? I think not. And I found new quotes to use (I only double-checked after I'd finished the 2.0 book). Anyway I chose the quote I did because I think I often believed the reason we need to learn from other countries is because it's polite, tolerant, moral, justice. But that one sentence (as silly as this may sound) honed home the point that better explains why its so important we study other cultures for those who don't buy the moral argument. Its a SMART thing to do. My only real issue with this book is that I didn't feel it was fully updated, it didn't focus as much on the Great Recession as I would have liked.
This book is a feel-good kind of book and that's not a bad thing. I found that it keeps things real, knocks Americans off their high horse while not being mired in pessimism. It also makes me feel better about being an IR major because the author still sees the need for more diplomats and policy wonks so let's hope he's right. Another great quote, "There is a fundamental tension in U.S. foreign policy, Does the country want to push its own particular interests abroad, or does it want to create a structure of rules, practices and values by which the world will be bound? In an age of rising new powers, the United States' overriding goals should be the latter-so that even as these countries get more powerful, they will continue to live within the framework of the current international system" (pg. 263) as designated by laws and such. Preach!