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25th out of 25 books
—
4 voters
The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us And What We Can Do About It
Today the very ideas that made America great imperil its future. Our plans go awry and policies fail. History's grandest war against terrorism creates more terrorists. Global capitalism, intended to improve lives, increases the gap between rich and poor. Decisions made to stem a financial crisis guarantee its worsening. Environmental strategies to protect species lead to t...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
March 23rd 2009
by Little, Brown and Company
(first published January 1st 2009)
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In 1997, Apple launched a campaign with one simple message"Think Different". 12 years ago it was inconceivable how necessary to our survival those two words would be in 2009. Joshua CooperRamo, an analyst and former Foreign Editor of Time, takes this Apple campaign slogan and sprints with it, full speed ahead, to help us understand where we are and what we'll need to do to pull ourselves together. His new book, The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New Global Order Constantly Surprises Us and What...more
"Louis Halle, and American diplomat and strategist of the 1950's, once observed that foreign policy is made not in reaction to the world but in reaction to an image of the world in the minds of the people making decisions. 'In the degree that the image is false, actually and philosophically, no technician, however proficient, can make the policy that is based on it sound.'" AOTU, 13).
"If man is not to do more harm than good in his efforts to improve the social order, he will have to learn that i...more
"If man is not to do more harm than good in his efforts to improve the social order, he will have to learn that i...more
I picked up the book after listening to a recommendation for the book by Farid Zakaria on his show GPS on CNN. The book gives description about how the world around us is dynamically changing and our ways to look at it are very primitive and insufficient. The book has examples from domains such as video game industry, history, terrorism and politics to get the point across to the readers. The authors believes the only way in which we can keep up with the dynamically changing environment is by bu...more
ust finished reading "The Age of The Unthinkable" by Joshua Cooper Ramo. From the front cover: "Why the new world disorder constantly surprises us, and what we can do about it."
I will say - that is a title that gets my attention. Despite my cynicism towards books that promise to solve lots of huge intractable problems, I went ahead and bought this book. And I'm glad I did, for it does deliver a compelling argument: we (the US) need to adjust our views of the world and realize it for what it is:...more
I will say - that is a title that gets my attention. Despite my cynicism towards books that promise to solve lots of huge intractable problems, I went ahead and bought this book. And I'm glad I did, for it does deliver a compelling argument: we (the US) need to adjust our views of the world and realize it for what it is:...more
Unsatisfying. Has the depth and breadth of a conversational magazine article, loaded with sensationalist language and cross dimensional anecdotes as evidence. Spends nearly a hundred pages saying how the world is different, complex and unpredictable, with endless set ups for a soon to come profound insight that never really does. Someone interested in geopolitics but unfamiliar with concepts such as critical thinking biases, resilience, adaptability and the value of empathy would benefit from th...more
Another must read for people who choose to live in the 21st century rather than retreating to the 19th century. According to the author, the main argument of the book "is that in a revolutionary era of surprise and innovation, you need to think and act like a revolutionary." Ramo does not think of "revolutionary" as some members of Congress or the Tea Party may think of revolutionary (that is, actually "reactionary" as in "locked and loaded" and ready to "water the tree of liberty," i.e. potenti...more
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A really mind changing book that helps us see the emerging new world disorder in an extraordinary new light using the metaphor of the sand pile: how unpredictable the moment of avalanche is. As the book's back cover says: 'the belief that globalization is harmonizing the planet has failed the tests of good science: it neither predicts nor explains our world.'Interestingly he is fascinated by Hezbollah (whose leaders he has met)not because he approves of their methods, but because of their adapta...more
Nov 10, 2012
Robert Chapman
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
technology
This book is about how what was unthinkable in days gone past is now possible, and the change in thinking required to embrace this new reality. The author uses a series of stories and examples to illustrate this point in a very effective fashion.
One of the biggest examples is how government used to be relied upon to solve the tough problems and often lead or incubated innovation. Today government cannot keep pace with smaller communities and individuals who, with the help of technology, can impa...more
One of the biggest examples is how government used to be relied upon to solve the tough problems and often lead or incubated innovation. Today government cannot keep pace with smaller communities and individuals who, with the help of technology, can impa...more
Ramo gives a good argument about how thinking in every sphere of life in the 21st century should be flexible, in order to face the challenges that will arise in a world where technology and societies are changing constantly. While I agree with his thesis, I am not sure how you easily make this operational, so I probably have missed the point. I also think that he is stretching a lot to make his point. Others have put forward some of his arguments, such as Chaos Theory. I am also not sure that I...more
A good read outlining why we need a new way of thinking about interdependencies when dealing with complex issues today. Good points about why we must see things holistically, but was a bit disappointed when the book stopped short of how we can do so more effectively. I thought the discussion on resilience and how we need to consider 'slow variables' was insightful - I think it is true that in today's management frames such 'slow variables' are rarely ever considered and thus rarely ever get acte...more
Thought provoking! As the former but the youngest ever managing editor of Time and currently the Managing Director of Kissinger Associates, a world's leading geostratgic advisory firm, Ramo delivers a highly readable and fluid argument. Ramo's description on his interview with Gorbachev on the collapse of the Soviet Union, meeting with leaders of Hizb'allah, discussion on Gertrude and Picasso's visions of Cubism, storytelling of Miyamoto's creation of Nintendo Wii, and so on and so forth, are no...more
May 02, 2012
Teri
added it
It was interesting and thought provoking, but if you're looking for a book that will lead to quick and easy solutions to world problems, this probably isn't it. The author asks us to start thinking in new ways, and adopt a new paradigm. While it's easy for one person to do this, it's another thing again to ask a whole government to do this. Because of this, I found some of his ideas contradictory.
One example: In one part of the book, Ramo says that universal healthcare makes sense, because it wo...more
One example: In one part of the book, Ramo says that universal healthcare makes sense, because it wo...more
I am painfully conflicted about this book. It reads like it was written by a grad student, not a former editor for Time. The writing is gimmicky and self-important, and the first chapter should be torn out and lit on fire. It steps into pretty much every cliche you can imagine about a dynamic world. Most egregious is the section on Oriental thinking (with, of course, a big shout out to Sun Tzu) which reads like one of those late 80's pieces on why the Japanese are so much better than us that lea...more
Ramo argues that the world is now too complex for the old approaches to statecraft to apply -- that in fact the traditional approaches are now dangerous and likely to blow up in our faces.
He's got some good data and interviews to back him up, and you have to give some respect to a man who has sat down with both Israeli intelligence chiefs and Hizb'allah leaders. But he also gets a little too entranced with the possibilities of the brave new world. I'm not sure how much he can count on the curre...more
He's got some good data and interviews to back him up, and you have to give some respect to a man who has sat down with both Israeli intelligence chiefs and Hizb'allah leaders. But he also gets a little too entranced with the possibilities of the brave new world. I'm not sure how much he can count on the curre...more
This book challenges the way we look at the events around us. It challenges us to observe and think and conclude differently than we are used to doing. Information can come from so many directions, so many sources, that we need to be able to act on what we see, rather than what we think we know.
So much of what we think we know is an older paradigm. This is kind of like planning for trench warfare, when the enemy has tanks that blow right passed the trenches, or tank warfare when the battle is g...more
So much of what we think we know is an older paradigm. This is kind of like planning for trench warfare, when the enemy has tanks that blow right passed the trenches, or tank warfare when the battle is g...more
When a wellread friend told me to buy this hardback if I
bought only one hard cover this year, I had to read it and I am glad I did. Actually I had seen Charlie Rose interview the
author so I had an inkling about the book. Ramos stresses the
need to look at a bigger picture in world affairs and the
acceptance of knowing that we can not control outcomes nor do
we know what they are going to be. He suggests resilience giving numerous examples of how resilience brings survival.
As I read I thought...more
bought only one hard cover this year, I had to read it and I am glad I did. Actually I had seen Charlie Rose interview the
author so I had an inkling about the book. Ramos stresses the
need to look at a bigger picture in world affairs and the
acceptance of knowing that we can not control outcomes nor do
we know what they are going to be. He suggests resilience giving numerous examples of how resilience brings survival.
As I read I thought...more
A book attempting to link recent terrorism and upheaval in financial markets to argue swift, significant change is upon us (and we are poorly prepared for it).
The weak point is that it never really makes its case. You really just have to assume that we are in the midst of historically unprecedented change. I feel like this ignores the resilience of markets and institutions as well as the upheavals of past years (Russian debt default, Asian currency crisis, LTCM, etc). Not to mention the signifi...more
The weak point is that it never really makes its case. You really just have to assume that we are in the midst of historically unprecedented change. I feel like this ignores the resilience of markets and institutions as well as the upheavals of past years (Russian debt default, Asian currency crisis, LTCM, etc). Not to mention the signifi...more
Sorry...I only made it through about half of this book before I started to skim. He seems to try to set up a tremendous argument about foreign policy (a la 'The Black Swan'), but instead trots out tangential stories about Google, Gertrude Stein and Nintendo. Seems that rather than making a researched, determined, and authoritative point, he's crafted a 'Gladwellian' pop-intellectual book to fill the 'political' niche missed by MG and the Freakonomics guys.
I was given this book by someone who th...more
I was given this book by someone who th...more
What a timely read for me. A couple weeks ago, the possibility of a pandemic swine flu was, well, unthinkable. Fortunately, the Age of the Unthinkable will be timely forever. Author Joshua Cooper Ramo convincingly asserts that this age demands revolutionary thought and actions by individuals and nations alike. The world is too interconnected, too complex and too unstable to apply predictable formulas in business, government or anywhere else for that matter. This book reinforced my world view and...more
I am currently reading this. I heard about it on the Glen Beck show. But I am interested because this author is my father's doctor's son and he went to the same high school as my two children. I also heard him speak at a graduation ceremony and he was brilliant, warm, and funny. I can't wait to get to the meat of the political commentary book
Finished reading. Very textbook like so it took me a long time to get through it. His main thesis, I believe, is to "get ready for Change" big time. He feel...more
Finished reading. Very textbook like so it took me a long time to get through it. His main thesis, I believe, is to "get ready for Change" big time. He feel...more
Ramo states that we and leading experts are being constantly surprised by the events and timing in our shifting world of chaos. He spends time explaining why the Western way of seeing problems and trying to break them down into smaller parts, may in fact cause larger problems when we are facing such global issues as climate change, terrorism and economic markets. We can't assume that if we just fine someone smart enough that we can find a single simple solution to fix these problems. And we shou...more
Events which have enfolded since i read this book (just before Tunisia and Egypt mass movements changed the shape of that region) proved the main premise of this book which elucidates 'why the new world disorder constantly surprises us' and how this is the 'age of the unthinkable' which needs very different strategies to tackle the problems of today - be it terrorism, mass movements which morph into strong forces with seeming 'no central power structure' and internet. I loved the book in which J...more
Aug 09, 2011
Cynthia
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
political,
books-i-own
Ramo had a lot of interesting points on developing a new way of thinking in order to help to solve not only world problems but problems in our daily lives as well. It is a slow read, took me nearly 3 weeks to finish not because the material was hard to grasp but because you find yourself structurally taking apart problems and trying to adapt your way of thinking in order to try and solve it. It's a political book as well as a bit of an economist one but it's still very applicable and left me wit...more
Interesting book. Author argues that we need to view the world differently in order to be safe as a society in the future. His main point is that we need to be flexible in order to be secure, but he also argues that we need to view context and realize that direct action through which we expect only one direct outcome won't work because societies and government are complex systems. We can never know how all the aspects of these systems interact with each other and therefore can't predict outcomes...more
Extremely intersting thesis. Saw Cooper Ramo on Charlie Rose and he was very interesting.
Basic point is that succcess in a changing world requires thinking outside the box to the extreme.
While an excellent thesis that makes you think about other applications, it is laid out very broadly but not very deep. Examples are good though. The recommendations for the future of foreign policy is not very instructive and makes for a let down ending.
Basic point is that succcess in a changing world requires thinking outside the box to the extreme.
While an excellent thesis that makes you think about other applications, it is laid out very broadly but not very deep. Examples are good though. The recommendations for the future of foreign policy is not very instructive and makes for a let down ending.
Ramo does an amazing job challenging conventional thinking, as it relates to foreign policy, politics in general, business, and so forth. This kind of book should be required reading in every high school and college...as a general requirement. Since it was published in 2009, I also find it ridiculous that we haven't seen these kinds of transformative changes occurring within our government.
I definitely recommend this book to everyone, even if you aren't interested in political subjects.
I definitely recommend this book to everyone, even if you aren't interested in political subjects.
Dec 01, 2010
Steve Van Slyke
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommended to Steve by:
I wish I could remember
Shelves:
kindle,
current-events
This book is about a mile wide and an inch deep. It’s formulaic. It’s almost as if the author had the structure of a book in his mind but not much new or profound in terms of ideas. So he strings together a series of vignettes and anecdotes, no doubt re-cycled from past writings and then tries to tie them together with glittering generalities and a vague theory for dealing with chaos and uncertainty that he calls Deep Security.
In his discussions about terrorism and the financial catastrophe of 2...more
In his discussions about terrorism and the financial catastrophe of 2...more
Clever and exciting way to talk about terrorism and security in today's world. The arguments for why a radical shift in thinking is needed are persuasive, and the author manages to engage the reader using interviews, anecdotes and powerful analogies, drawing parallels between seemingly unrelated phenomena. Essentially, the book is one about a much needed new epistemological approach towards understanding the world.
- people would often rather be in the crowd than to be alone and right
- the world is changing incredibly fast and we can't hold to most anything
- running an internet start-up can be very similar to running a terrorist organization
- trying to fix something can often break it and make it worse
- resilience and empathy and two very important keys to success no matter what you do these days
- doing good is more or less impossible without assuming some risk and responsibility
- the world is changing incredibly fast and we can't hold to most anything
- running an internet start-up can be very similar to running a terrorist organization
- trying to fix something can often break it and make it worse
- resilience and empathy and two very important keys to success no matter what you do these days
- doing good is more or less impossible without assuming some risk and responsibility
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