The Post-American World

by Fareed Zakaria
The Post-American World
book data
1,063 ratings, 3.87 average rating, 342 reviews (more data...)
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published
May 5th 2008 by W. W. Norton

binding
Hardcover, 288 pages

isbn
039306235X    (isbn13: 9780393062359)

description
One of our most distinguished thinkers argues that the "rise of the rest" is the great story of our time.

"This is not a book about the ...more




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Dalebrayden
07/24/08
Dalebrayden rated it: 2 of 5 stars

bookshelves: nonfiction, politics
Read in August, 2008
I'll say at the outset that I like Fareed Zakaria. He's articulate, reasonable, moderate, and optimistic. And he is the successor to George Kennan and Zbigniew Brzezinski in the role of theorist for US corporate imperialism. I will not be surprised if he gets an appointment in the upcoming Obama administration as, for example, Assistant Deputy Director of strategic Analysis for the State Department.

Zakaria takes it as an obvious given that the era of US hegemony is drawing to a close...more
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Eamonn Gormley
09/11/08
Eamonn Gormley rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in September, 2008
This is the kind of work that makes a body wish President Bush would read books. The author's point is that diplomacy is America's strength, and it should be used first with force held as a last resort, especially in a world where the US is not the only superpower anymore due to the growing influence of countries in the developing world.

'The Rise of the Rest' is what Mr Zakaria uses to refer to the economic and political growth in developing countries, principally (but not limited t...more
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Sally
10/23/08
Sally rated it: 3 of 5 stars

bookshelves: not-for-everybody, to-buy
Read in February, 2009
I finished this last night and I must say that although it starts off strong I grew very weary. Zakaria could have accomplished the same purpose with a feature in a magazine, in 2000 words. I'm glad I read it, I'm working on broadening my perspective, and there is much about the international finance world I never even began to imagine. It never hurts to be told something more than once - just around time eight or ten I grow weary. Good stuff, though. Time not wasted.

1/30: So fa...more
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Matthew Dodson
06/17/08
Matthew Dodson rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in June, 2008
recommends it for: Those who detest fear
Fareed Zakaria's new book, "The Post-American World," shines a bright light on the hand-wringing and defeatist lies about the state of America that are used by neo-conservatives and anti-globalist leftists to support their radical positions by infusing Americans with fear. Indeed, Mr. Zakaria decisively shows that America is the sole ideological superpower in a world that has wholesale adopted our culture and economic values. We are now witnessing a global transformation that is the re...more
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Raghu
06/09/08
Raghu rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Read in June, 2008
This is an important and optimistic book about America and its future. While it is fashionable now to predict gloom about America's future as an economic and political power and over emphasise the rise of China and other powers, Zakaria brings a balance thru his analysis and says that there is no need to push the panic button. On the contrary, he shows the many positives about America as well as the world today. For example, in spite of the terrorism and violence, he shows that the past 20 years...more
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Tripp
06/12/08
Tripp rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Fareed Zakaria's new book, the Post-American World is a book I hope both presidential candidates read. It is a brief book that tells Americans we need to re-think our view of the world. We need to jettison the idea of the world's policeman and hyperpower and replace it with the world's trusted third party. In this his says we need to be less Britain than Bismarck, which I rather like. We need to de-emphasize military power and re-consider economic competitiveness. We need to spend less time worr...more
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Nat
12/29/08
Nat rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in December, 2008
recommends it for: terry burger
Another book by a journalist. Zakaria give you something you don't expect from the title of the book. You might expect it to be simple America-bashing. In fact, it is a gentle warning with suggestions as to how America can continue to be a major player as economic and other power shifts globally in the 21st century. A well-thought-out and well-written book. A must read for anyone interested in the future role that American can play on the global landscape.
Like this review?   yes   (1 person liked it)
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Rob Haas
05/25/08
Rob Haas rated it: 5 of 5 stars

bookshelves: philosophy, politics
Read in October, 2008
I only have two chapters left, but this is probably the most timely book on world economics and political dynamics that you can find. It updates a lot of old statistics and misconceptions all while leaving a really nice taste in your mouth for whats to come. I would recommend this book to everyone who wants to know behind whats going on in the world. The author has definitly done his research on culture, history, politics, economics, trade as well as a multitude of other important topics. He thr...more
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Laura
07/02/08
Laura rated it: 5 of 5 stars

bookshelves: read---2008
I loved this book! It helps that I read Zakaria's columns in Newsweek all the time and really like his global outlook and the openness and collaboration amongst nations that he promotes. It was also an interesting read - not boring or stuffy like what we had to read in college. I studied both India and China briefly in college, taking poli sci, history, and globalization courses but it was nice to get a 5 year update :)

Whether you'd like to brush up on the current state of world...more
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Dylan
05/30/08
Dylan rated it: 3 of 5 stars

Read in June, 2008
He defends the book's basic thesis really well, which isn't hard to do. He does a great job with his discussion of history's many narratives, and the placing of America's current situation in historical context. My problem with the book is how drastically Zakaria overvalues GDP and productivity as the value of a country. He never seems to question the construct of world powers, and tends to value countries too much on their global power and too little on how their citizenship is faring. As Jonat...more
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Frank
02/26/09
Frank rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Read in February, 2009
I liked what I read in the beginning and felt it would be a good read for certain politicians in Washington to understand a world perspective that goes beyond a very limited American perspective. With that said, I was also surprised and happy that this was not a "blame America" or "bad America" book. I was impressed by Zakaria's ability and fairness to point out the good and the bad of what America means to and has done for the world (culture). On the down side, after having ...more
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Kim
06/02/09
Kim rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Read in May, 2009
As the world undergoes a profound power shift, with the U.S. slipping from center stage, Zakaria discusses the implications of the "rise of the rest," primarily India and China (with nods to several other countries). He gives a thoughtful, balanced overview of how this new dynamic will impact global warming and other challenges, stressing that the U.S. must revamp its thinking as we move into this new age.

As always, Zakaria provides historical and cultural context for the ...more
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Becky
01/28/09
Becky rated it: 3 of 5 stars

Read in February, 2009
i don't usually read a lot of non-fiction, especially in the political genre, but i've always been pretty into foreign policy ever since i took a course on it in college. this book was a really interesting, if slightly simplistic, look at how the world is evolving away from a unipolar U.S.-dominated system into a diverse, multipolar one, resulting from what zakaria refers to as "the rise of the rest." i really enjoyed the mish-mash of world history, basic economics, cultural lessons, a...more
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Mark
04/04/09
Mark rated it: 2 of 5 stars

I gave it two stars because I thought Zakaria's book to be so pro-globalization that it lacked real credibility. Often, his pom-pom waving for a political economy which has created the financial disaster we're living through today puts me in mind of Dinesh D'Souza's essay:
"Two Cheers for Colonialism." I'm put in mind of Lenin's term: the comprador bourgeoisie. In some ways that's unfair to say. In some ways, it's dead on accurate.


It's understandable why he sup...more
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Ruby
01/06/09
Ruby rated it: 4 of 5 stars

I heard about this book from the John Stewart show. Actually that is one of my favorite things about his show is that it is few of the main stream shows left that have book reviews and authors as regular guests.

I'm half way though, and really enjoying this book. Although the title my sound a little doomsday-ish, really Zakaria's point is that there was a creative, growing, important world before America, and there is a new phase being created now. America is no longer the top of t...more
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Clif Hostetler
bookshelves: current-events
Read in December, 2008
The book title suggests that perhaps it's predicting the demise of America. But instead the book is generally optimistic about the future and predicts that other nations will rise in importance relative to the U.S. However, America will continue to be a global player on the international scene.

This book was published in May 2008 prior to the recent meltdown in the financial world. I found myself speculating about what the author would say differently if the book were written aft...more
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DoctorM
06/07/09
DoctorM rated it: 3 of 5 stars

Read in June, 2009
A useful book, though--- like most of Zakaria's writing ---lacking in depth. He makes important points, and ones worth bearing in mind. The global story of the last twenty years has not been one of American decline, but of the "Rise of the Rest", the remarkable economic transformation of India and China and the growth of a world without a single economic or political center. America always favours competition...unless it might have to change its own practices or views to compete. Zakar...more
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Channon
04/25/09
Channon rated it: 1 of 5 stars

Read in May, 2009
Thought I'd like this more than I did. Have to admit that it is not my favorite book. I'm no cheerleader for globalization or US market capitalism but I am even less a fan of attempting to manipulate the world into a homogeneous global market with "western" values which I felt a strong undercurrent of throughout the book -- particularly the first half.

Zakaria asserts that Western economics, religion and culture have been dominant forces for over half a millennium. He ...more
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Jody
02/04/09
Jody rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in February, 2009
I have only recently begun to enjoy reading non-fiction. However this is the first 'political' book I've read that I can remember. Fareed Zakaria (editor of Newsweek Internationl) is one of my favorite guests on Jon Stewart's Daily Show. I find him to be very intelligent and insightful. His book reflects those qualities as well as showcasing his skill as a writer. I particularly appreciated his global view. His view is not that America is declining as a power in the world, but that everyone else...more
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Beth
03/24/09
Beth rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in March, 2009
Fantastic book. Again, (as per my last book review) it was published in 2008 so how the financial crisis may or may not change what is written is hard to tell.
It is written by a man who is Indian (as in India, not Native American). He grew up in India, came to America to study and stayed. It is nice to have an "outsider's" perspective sometimes.
This book gives a good picture of how the future might shape up. Might. Because of course no ones knows what will happen. Bu...more
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quotes from this book

""We have not noticed how fast the rest has risen. Most of the industrialized world--and a good part of the nonindustrialized world as well--has better cell phone service than the United States. Broadband is faster and cheaper across the industrial world, from Canada to France to Japan, and the United States now stands sixteenth in the world in broadband penetration per capita. Americans are constantly told by their politicians that the only thing we have to learn from other countries' health care systems is to be thankful for ours. Most Americans ignore the fact that a third of the country's public schools are totally dysfunctional (because their children go to the other two-thirds). The American litigation system is now routinely referred to as a huge cost to doing business, but no one dares propose any reform of it. Our mortgage deduction for housing costs a staggering $80 billion a year, and we are told it is crucial to support home ownership, except that Margaret Thatcher eliminated it in Britain, and yet that country has the same rate of home ownership as the United States. We rarely look around and notice other options and alternatives, convinced that "we're number one."" More quotes...


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Daily Show / Colbert Report
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