Well reasoned opinion
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Completely agree with the previous reviewer that this is a clear and cogent argument for America's place in the coming world order. It's not an alarmist treatise - rather an argument about the fundamental strengths that America has, does, and will continue to hold into the future, and how that fits with other nations finding their strength.
My one beef with the book is that Zakaria seldom even makes an effort to support his argument. It is far more a statement of his (what I find agreeable) opinion than it is essay.
But as I said, perhaps because it fits well into my own opinion, I found the book ejoyable, and his writing style fluid and comprehensible.
Overall a very good read and one I've recommended (and lent) to others already.
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The Rise of the Rest
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It's truly unfortunate that Fareed Zakaria chose to name his book, "Post American World", because it does not accurately reflect his central thesis which is the "rise of the rest" and not the end of American exceptionalism. I'm sure the provocative title was more sensational than he wanted it to be but that his publisher thought it would attract more "buzz".
In any case, this short book is a terrific survey of 20th century developments specifically leading to the globalization phenomenon that has led to economic miracles occuring in both China and India. I say survey, because Zakaria does not intend the book to be a complete treatise on the subject, but rather to present a concise overview of the major themes and most importantly offer his prognosis for the future.
According to Zakaria, the "post american world" is one where the balance of power has readjusted after the temporary imbalance post cold-war which gave the US sole superpower status for over a decade. In summing up Zakaria's vision of this new relationship he states that "there is now a conversation with the Americans in the room, and one without, the key point being that a conversation now exists with or without the Americans."
Some reviewers have been overly critical of Zakaria for his somewhat apologetic view especially towards China, given its atrocious human rights record, continued oppression of Tibet, complete disregard for the natural environment and exploitation of resources from developing countries. It is true that Zakaria fails to highlight any of these critical issues, however, all of that still does not detract whatsoever from his central argument that China is rapidly rising and will soon out-produce the US in a few decades despite the human costs.
Zakaria's writing style is clear, uncluttered, and straightforward. In my opinion, "Post American World" is one of the more important non-fiction books of the year.
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