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The World: A Brief Introduction

The World: A Brief Introduction

by Richard Haass

Penguin Press ·2020 ·400 pages ·Politics
Maybe Someday
Maybe Someday
I Index
34/99
Bottom of the Pile

20/99

Critics

Maybe Someday

48/99

Readers

n/a

Scholars

6/99

Rating

34/99

Volume

30/99

Rating

67/99

Volume

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About This Book

An invaluable primer from Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, that will help anyone, expert and non-expert alike, navigate our fast-changing world Today's headlines generate more questions than answers. Should the United States attack North Korea and Iran or negotiate with them? What are the implications of climate change and what should be done about it? Are tariffs a good idea? What do we owe refugees and others who want to enter our country? Should democratic countries promote democracy and human rights elsewhere? What can be done to stop terrorism? Are the United States and China heading for a second cold war--and, if so, what can be done to head it off?The World is designed to provide readers of any age and experience with the essential background and building blocks needed to answer these and other critical questions for themselves. It will empower them to manage the flood of daily news. Readers will become more informed, discerning citizens, better able to arrive at sound, independent judgments and to hold elected representatives to account. Those who read The World will be less vulnerable to being misled by politicians and others claiming to be experts. In short, this book will make readers more globally literate. Global literacy--knowing how the world works--is a must, as what goes on outside a country matters enormously to what happens inside. Although the United States is bordered by two oceans, those oceans are not moats. And the so-called Vegas rule--what happens there stays there--does not apply in today's globalized world to anyone anywhere. U.S. foreign policy is uniquely American, but the world Americans seek to shape is not. The tectonic plates of international relations are moving. This is a critical time for high school and college students and others to understand what is taking place around the world, why it is taking place, and how it will affect our lives. Toward these ends, The World focuses on essential history, what makes each region of the world tick, the many challenges globalization presents, and the most influential countries, events, and ideas. Explaining complex ideas with wisdom and clarity, Richard Haass's The World is an evergreen book that will remain relevant and useful even as history continues to unfold.


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Reviews

"Although much of what Haass writes should be familiar to readers of major newspapers, many will be enlightened by the author's descriptions of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and why the US dollar remains the world's most used currency ..."

Walter Clemens· The New York Journal of Books Read review ↗ Near the Top

"In covering so much territory in so little space, Haass can't help but do a lot of skimming, though the lacunae are beguiling enough to make readers seek out deeper investigations into certain topics—and the author's 'Where To Go For More' section is a good start ..."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Condensing so much complexity into a lucid 400 pages is no small accomplishment, but it's easy to wonder whether more colorful prose or probing analysis might have better fulfilled Haass's goal of inspiring interest in his subject ..."

Mark Atwood Lawrence· The New York Times Read review ↗ Maybe Someday

"Haass's rehash of these topics is cautious, evenhanded, and centrist—he advocates for a prudent but engaged American foreign policy that steers between adventurism and isolationism ..."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Maybe Someday

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