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Product Description
From the bestselling author of Balkan Ghosts and The Ends of the Earth comes a fascinating new book on the imminent global chaos that is as brilliant as it is necessary, as original as it is controversial.
The end of the Cold War has not ushered in the global peace and prosperity that many had anticipated. Environmental degradation is causing the rampant spread of famine and disease, and a rising number of nations are being torn by violent wars of fierce tribalism and trenchant regionalism. Our newest democracies, such as Russia and Venezuela, are bloody maelstroms of violence and crime, while America is beset with an alarmingly high number of apathetic citizens content to concern themselves with matters of entertainment and convenience. Bold, erudite, and profoundly important, The Coming Anarchy is a compelling must-read by one of today's most penetrating writers and provocative minds.
"Analytically daring.... Informed by a rock-solid, unwavering realism and an utter absence of sentimentality.... Kaplan is a knowledgeable and forceful polemicist who mixes the attributes of journalist and visionary." —The New York Times
"Ambitiously eclectic.... [Kaplan] is one of America's most engaging writers on contemporary international affairs." —The New York Times Book Review
The end of the Cold War has not ushered in the global peace and prosperity that many had anticipated. Environmental degradation is causing the rampant spread of famine and disease, and a rising number of nations are being torn by violent wars of fierce tribalism and trenchant regionalism. Our newest democracies, such as Russia and Venezuela, are bloody maelstroms of violence and crime, while America is beset with an alarmingly high number of apathetic citizens content to concern themselves with matters of entertainment and convenience. Bold, erudite, and profoundly important, The Coming Anarchy is a compelling must-read by one of today's most penetrating writers and provocative minds.
"Analytically daring.... Informed by a rock-solid, unwavering realism and an utter absence of sentimentality.... Kaplan is a knowledgeable and forceful polemicist who mixes the attributes of journalist and visionary." —The New York Times
"Ambitiously eclectic.... [Kaplan] is one of America's most engaging writers on contemporary international affairs." —The New York Times Book Review
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"THE MINISTER'S EYES WERE LIKE EGG YOLKS, AN AFTER effect of some of the many illnesses, malaria especially, endemic in his country." Read the first page
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
"THE MINISTER'S EYES WERE LIKE EGG YOLKS, AN AFTER effect of some of the many illnesses, malaria especially, endemic in his country." Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
An extremely well thought-out, if controversial, treatise on the end of Cold War and the realities and challenges facing the West now. From crime, famine, disease and environmental degradation in Africa, to the dubious (according to the author) advantages of democracy and peace, Mr. Kaplan attacks our assumptions and slays sacred-cow beliefs with gusto. The book is a series of self-contained chapters originally published as magazine articles, each sure to infuriate the "liberal elite" in any western democracy. Mr. Kaplan is a journalist and has travelled extensively, so he speaks mainly from personal experience, but is also very well read and cites such diverse sources as Toqueville, Hobbes, Gibbon, Conrad, Metternicht and Kissinger. His conclusions are chilling, all the more so since he describes himself as a pragmatist, not an ideologue. In fact, students of current U.S. foreign policy may recognise the influence this book has had on the handling of recent conflicts such as Kosovo. A must read for all concerned with current affairs, and definitely those who are too sure the future is rosy and bright.
Format:Paperback
I have bought this book from Amazon as part of my book list for my university course. I find it an excellent, thought provoking and truthfully stirring read. However I feel the author, Kaplan is too pessimistic about the world's eco-logical future which I find as a optimist for our race generally straining- hence why I didn't give it a perfect score. Still anyone interested in Politics, Geography, Environment or basically cares about the Human race and it's fragile and ever-changing future, this book is the place to go to.
Format:Paperback
This is a collection of essays on global politics.
The most interesting part was about Western Africa. Mr. Kaplan describes quite vividly how the countries around the Gulf of Guinea are falling into anarchy, and the national borders we see on the political map have actually become meaningless. There are quite different territorial entities emerging.
From that, Mr. Kaplan draws conclusions on the development of the whole world, and points out some similar developments in various regions. He shows how it's quite possible that pretty much the entire world will become increasingly anarchic in the future. (Among other things, China will inevitably fall apart. You know, the American dream.)
The reason I didn't like the book too much was because the author spends too much energy on explaining how the popular notions of the world's future are wrong, but it's not so clear if he has any idea what is actually going to happen.
Some of the essays (for instance, one about the decline of Western democracy) are nothing more than vague meditations, the kind of stuff journalists write when they have no idea what to say but have to fill up space.
So this book has good parts and bad parts.
The most interesting part was about Western Africa. Mr. Kaplan describes quite vividly how the countries around the Gulf of Guinea are falling into anarchy, and the national borders we see on the political map have actually become meaningless. There are quite different territorial entities emerging.
From that, Mr. Kaplan draws conclusions on the development of the whole world, and points out some similar developments in various regions. He shows how it's quite possible that pretty much the entire world will become increasingly anarchic in the future. (Among other things, China will inevitably fall apart. You know, the American dream.)
The reason I didn't like the book too much was because the author spends too much energy on explaining how the popular notions of the world's future are wrong, but it's not so clear if he has any idea what is actually going to happen.
Some of the essays (for instance, one about the decline of Western democracy) are nothing more than vague meditations, the kind of stuff journalists write when they have no idea what to say but have to fill up space.
So this book has good parts and bad parts.
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