Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Political scientist Bremmer (Us vs. Them) returns with an intriguing, historically grounded analysis of contemporary geopolitics. Spotlighting the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and the rise of artificial intelligence, Bremmer looks to history for examples of how the U.S., China, and other global powers should respond to these and other crises. He finds cause for optimism in the post-WWII Marshall Plan, when the U.S. invested its own resources into rebuilding western Europe and, in the process, created a durable anti-Communist political coalition. Stressing the importance of sharing the burden, Bremmer calls for global cooperation and investment; for example, his "Green Marshall Plan" features multinational investment in renewable energy and green jobs, and a "global agreement" to help resettle people displaced by climate change. Bremmer also expresses concern about the outsourcing of human crisis management to the private sector and calls for governments to accept "the need to help those less fortunate in their countries with strengthened social safety nets, guaranteed basic income, among other ideas." Though the roadmap for reaching international consensus remains hazy, Bremmer packs the book with enlightening historical examples and sharp analysis of contemporary data. The result is a well-informed look at how "necessity must now become the mother of cooperation." (May)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In Wastelands, award-winning novelist Addison turns to nonfiction to profile a rural community so angered by the damage done by pollution-spewing Big Agriculture that it sued the worst offender--and won. New York Times best-selling author Bremmer sets us on a Collision Course, predicting that more pandemics, increased climate-change complications, and life-altering new technologies will inevitably be a part of our future (100,000-copy first printing). Distinguished Stanford political scientist Fukuyama, perhaps best known forThe End of History and the Last Man, now examines Liberalism and Its Discontents at a time of political upheaval (75,000-copy first printing). "Corner Office" columnist at theNew York Times, Gelles calls General Electric CEO Jack Welch The Man Who Broke Capitalism, indicting him for the harm done by his brand of capitalism and showing how some companies are trying to undo it with different strategies. Award-winning journalist Hill ( BET News) and New York Times best-selling author Brewster (The Century) join forces in Seen and Unseen, considering videos like those showing the killing of George Floyd and the harassment of Christian Cooper to investigate how technology has impacted our conversations about race (100,000-copy first printing). Photographer Palley's Into the Inferno recalls eight years spent documenting California's raging wildfires, showing that the state's fire season now lasts year-round and calling for climate action (see also poet Kevin Goodan's Spot Weather Forecast). Former president of the Uyghur Humans Rights Project and now a commissioner for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Turkel uses memoir in No Escape to reveal China's ongoing repression of the Uyghur people.
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Another plea for the world to get its act together. Eurasia Group founder Bremmer sets the stage early on: "Faced with dysfunction at the heart of American politics, poisoned relations between America and China, a broken global system, and with vitally important questions to answer, where is the way forward?" The solution? "We need crises scary enough to make us forge a new international system that promotes effective cooperation on a few crucial questions." The author finds three that qualify: pandemics, climate change, and the ubiquity of digital technology. Numerous books examine (and deplore) all three, but Bremmer's account is notable for its clear prose and concision. No one doubts that better planning and global cooperation would have lessened the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Readers unfamiliar with climate change will encounter an excellent introduction to the science and tactics to combat it, which, except for in parts of Europe, remain largely in the realm of rhetoric. Digital technology is revolutionizing our lives, sometimes for the better, but its disruptive effects seem out of control. Data is routinely mishandled or ignored, and the cheerful prediction that automation will create jobs as well as eliminate them remains unfulfilled. That the internet revolution would empower individuals at the expense of the government and spread democracy was widely proclaimed--20 years ago. One rarely hears the same message today, when social media has become a source of disruption, fake news, and conspiracy theories as well as a tool of oppression and violence. Bremmer, the author of Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism and other relevant books, offers a vivid description of how the world is dealing with these crises--so far ineffectually. The author's entirely reasonable solutions involve government action, self-sacrifice, and tolerance of opposing opinions, all of which are in short supply at the moment. An expert analysis of several critical problems with sensible, if not likely, solutions. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
