Almost exactly 400 years ago, Galileo looked through his telescope at the moons of Jupiter revolving around that planet, and realized that Earth could not possibly be at the center of the universe. He was visited by the Inquisition 2 years later for his trouble. Fareed Zakaria is now making the same observation about the role of Washington and the U.S. in world affairs: international politics and economics no longer revolves around America. The Inquisition awaits.

Zakaria discusses not the "demise" of the U.S., but rather the "rise of everyone else". His global-centered perspective provides an understanding of 21st century international relations, politics, and economics, with a focus on events in China and India.

His last section looks at the role of America in the 21st century, and how this has changed after 8 years of Bush-Cheney. His suggestions for course correction are excellent. ( )

Informative, thought provoking view of America as other countries rise in the world. ( )

Sweeping with broad strokes and brilliant yet easy to read prose, Fareed Zakaria clearly establishes himself among the giants of foreign relations, politics, and economics. With this book, Zakaria outlines the 'Rise of the Rest' - that is how the rest of the world has caught up to America in many important ways. This presents both large opportunities and challenges that America must face in the present, in addition to the challenges of terrorism, and foreign and domestic issues. He argues that things are not as dire as they look, in terms of America's world standing in technology, education, and military and political capital, but that the world is shifting, geopolitically, economically, technologically, socially, and that to maintain relevance and learn from global powers and struggles of the past such as the British and Roman Empires and the Cold War, priorities must be set since the USA cannot do everything everywhere all the time, sole global superpower or not.

Whether Democrat or Republican, American or not, this book has an important message of global change which means that no one and no country can rest easy in this day and age of a 'flattened' world with a more level playing field and shifting geopolitical and economic realities. An important and relevant book, even though the hardback came out before the mortgage crisis, global economic meltdown and 2008 American election. Highly worth reading and positively recommended. ( )

Very little data used to substantiate the declarative statements promulgated here.

(Alistair) And now the next book in my non-fiction reading, Fareed Zakaria's The Post-American World - actually a Christmas present from my brother-in-law.

Well, it's a very well-written (albeit short, and in places somewhat overtaken by the events of the economic crisis) and interesting book. I can hardly say that I agree with it entirely, but then, outside the hard sciences, I would deem it very unlikely that any book could be written with which I'd agree entirely. More importantly, he provides you with many interesting things to think about, and I would recommend reading it on that basis.

(For those interested in what I think of the actual politics of the book, I would stipulate that his central thesis, the "rise of the rest", and thus our decline in relative terms as other countries rise, despite maintaining and/or improving our absolute position, is essentially undeniable. Likewise, one can hardly disagree that we need to adapt in many ways - often involving quick and probably painful reform - to function effectively in a world defined by a polyarchy of Great Powers rather than as a singular hegemonic power.

The devil, as ever, is in the details...

...and, for my money, we're heading in the wrong direction.)

( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/ce... ) ( )

I'll refrain from going into a point by point analysis of this book. I think anyone interested in Fareed Zakaria or his writings will know what they're getting into.

Nonetheless, Zakaria does a very commendable job of laying out how this globalized world we now inhabit has and will shape foreign policy, economics, social, and other diplomatic relationships across the globe.
The U.S. will be the most affected by this landscape because countries like China, Russia, Brazil, and Ind...more I'll refrain from going into a point by point analysis of this book. I think anyone interested in Fareed Zakaria or his writings will know what they're getting into.

Nonetheless, Zakaria does a very commendable job of laying out how this globalized world we now inhabit has and will shape foreign policy, economics, social, and other diplomatic relationships across the globe.
The U.S. will be the most affected by this landscape because countries like China, Russia, Brazil, and India (among many others) are taking advantage of globalization, modernity, industrialization, and political failings to become strong players on a global/ international stage.

The real insight in this book comes from Zakaria's intimate knowledge of how the rest of the world perceives the U.S- and what options and strategies are most likely to keep the U.S. a legitimate power in a world where the "rest" are strengthening and becoming more and more relevant.
He writes about India and China in a way that unveils a great appeal for their culture, governments (sometimes), religions, and political philosophies. Some of his anecdotes, stats, and insights actually make the U.S. seem more stagnant, shortsighted, weak, quarrelsome, and at times backwards that I already perceived us to be.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in U.S foreign policy, globalized politics, and general foreign relations. It's a great telling of how the next decade will play out, and the pitfalls that await if caution, pragmatism, and multilateralism donn't become the pillars of U.S. foreign policy. ( )

Wonderful book providing insights into global economic giants and ourselves ( )

Amazing book. A must read for anyone who cares about the world ( )

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 after the current flury of bailouts and the collapse of Lehman Brothers. On page 205 the author says, "New derivatives based on underlying instruments like stock or interst-rate payment are increasingly important ..." He goes on to say that the London financial exchanges sell more derivatives than the New York exchanges with the implication that this is an indication of the strength of the London markets. In think the author would want to word things a little differently today if he had a chance. But still it is my guess that the author would view current conditions as part of expected cycles in the world's economy.

The book covers some of the same ground covered by Friedman's The World Is Flat. Both books spend considerable time discussing the rise of China and India on the world scene. Zakaria's writing is perhaps a bit more subduded and business like than Friedman's book (and perhaps less interesting to read as a result).

I found the parts of the book that are critical of the United States to be the most interesting parts. The following is a quotation from the book I found interesting: "More people will graduate in the United States in 2006 with sports-exercise degrees than electrical-engineering degrees," says General Electric's CEO, Jeffrey Immelt. "So if we want to be the massage capital of the world, we're well on our way."

The book maintains that the American educational sytem is better than many think. Worldwide testing always shows the students from Singapore with top scores in math and science. So Americans might conclude that our schools should be more like theirs. It is interesting to see from the following quotation from the book what the educational officials in Singapore think of the American educational system: "Tharman Shanmugaratnam, until recently Singapore's minister of education, explains the difference between his country's system and America's. "We both have meritocracies," Shanmugaratnam says. "Yours is a talent meritocracy, ours is an exam meritocracy. We know how to train people to take exams. You know how to use people's talents to the fullest. Both are important, but there are some parts of the intellect that we are not able to test well - like creativity, curiosity, a sense of adventure, ambition. Most of all, America has a culture of learning that challenges conventional wisdom, even if it means challenging authority. These are the areas where Singapore must learn from America.""

Read in December, 2008 ( )

This was a great book and in its way, very comforting and uplifting. The author argues that Americans have spooked themselves into a posture of fear about the rest of the world. Actually, our world has rarely been more peaceful and prosperous than it is now. Why the fear? Media and politics share the blame. While our politics is failing us, economically the US is diverse and strong. Zakaria says we need to rethink our place in the world order. While we are still the most powerful nation, we must improve our image overseas and share some of the power with our allies to insure world peace. We should not see rising powers India and China as threats to our power, but work to accomodate them into the world power structure. A major theme is that America is not sinking, the developing world is rising. ( )

Fareed Zakaria's book, The Post-American World, is not an anti-American treatise as the title might be interpreted to imply. Zakaria posits a "rise of the rest" argument, specifically the billion-plus countries China and India. These giant industrial-developing societies best illustrate, Zakaria argues, a forming new world order where America is a still-dominant superpower, but a power that will see some of its fortunes diminish or change as other countries ascend. Zakaria presents a co-existent uni- and multi-polarity world powers construct to illustrate this point. By acknowledging changing world events head on the United States can play a best-leadership and diplomatic hand that is accommodating to new realities; America can contribute instrumentally to maintenance of an important world-stability framework that fairly recognizes the legitimacy, valid contributions and power of non-Western societies. American can impart best leadership practices on how to behave as a rising major power to India and China by its own example.

The book is a lean, popular read that deftly covers a lot of historical ground. I most enjoyed the two chapters devoted respectively to China and India. Zakaria provides historical perspective but also a contrast and comparison of the two societies and the challenges that each country faces for its respective history and social order. For China the markets genie is out of the bottle: how does its top-down authoritarian-regime apparatus manage and thrive in a market-based economies world. India's challenge is how, as a maturing democracy of British colonial legacy, to build a national identity and infrastructure in an inefficient, politics-is-local factioned society.

In context to China's growing industrial manufacturing base, I enjoyed Zakaria's presentation of the Shin Shih Smile Curve. While probably not universal for all time, the Smile Curve does seem a plausible snapshot of value delivery distribution for outsourced American production today. Presentation of this idea over the Christmas dinner table produced mixed reaction. On one hand it provoked an a-ha moment, as if this production model were the missing piece to finding complete comfort with America's loss of its production base; on the other hand, I was dismissed as a liberal idiot for ever comprehending such a notion.

James Fallows, writer for The Atlantic Magazine whom Zakaria references for his use of smile curve concept, recapped this idea in his Atlantic magazine blog-space much as Zakaria delivers it in his book: http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/a...

On the whole I found this a good, relevant topic that is well presented and highly readable. As someone who did not always pay attention to history I found the historical references engaging, and Zakaria's assembling of the history into context brilliant. Zakaria's concluding multi-point prescriptive plan for America is a bit too tidy and rushes the book's conclusion but is not inconsistent with the popular reading aim of the book overall. ( )

The author provides a great window on the world and truly helps the reader gain a greatly improved perspective of the world, its changes and its impact on us. This book is a must read for anyone involved in government and business, and just generally all of us who are affected by world events. He is a gifted writer. ( )

Agree or disagree with the author it is a book worth reading. Five stars for discussion starting possibilities. I suspect the book was written before the "current economic crisis."

A surprisingly uplifting and hopeful book about the end of the American Empire. Zakaria presents lost of data to refute some "common sense" notions about things, although he seems to take a heavy enconomic slant to things. ( )

View of the world where emerging countries grow faster that US - impact on power and ( )

A fascinating, quick read which argues that America must ready itself for no longer being the dominant player in world affairs - not because of American decline, but due to the inevitable rise of the rest fo the world. He argues persuasively that not only will this happen, but it is already well on its way to being a reality. To me, it seems an obvious argument, but many do not seem to think so. Zakaria brings in the facts to buttress his observations and instincts, and puts it all together in a coherent, well reasoned presentation.

The one drawback is also a strenght. He does not delve as deeply into many matters as would like, but this is so the whole argument can proceed forward mroe quickly and gracefully. The book is aimed more at the casual (but intelligent) reader, rather than the world scholar. ( )

The Post-American World by Fahreed Zacaria is not about the decline of the U.S. so much as what Zacaria calls “the rise of the rest.” America’s position as the only superpower is eroding relative to other nations, both politically and economically (though perhaps not militarily, but weapons alone do not make a world power). So Zacaria addresses problems and opportunities of America’s new situation, as “the first among many world powers.” Rapid growth in China, India, Brazil, Russia, and other smaller countries will continue to have an increasing impact on international relations, as well as global economics. ( )

Bad news sells lots of newspapers, magazines and books and it does wonders for the ratings of television and radio news shows. Because of that, many of us who read or keep up with the news on a regular basis have been brainwashed into believing that the United States is in the midst of a terrible economic and societal decline from which it may never fully recover. In The Post-American World, author Fareed Zakaria offers a more optimistic view of the country’s current world status and how and why that status will change in the 21st century. I suspect that the truth is somewhere in between, but Zakaria’s book is definitely a persuasive one.

Zakaria’s theory is that the perceived decline of America is more to be attributed to the rise of the rest of the world than it is to an actual American decline. He sees the American example as having been a key element in the more-and-more successful globalization of the world that has allowed countries such as China, India, Brazil and Russia to achieve remarkable economic growth and successes of their own. As those countries carve out a bigger piece of the pie for themselves, America’s dominance of the global marketplace will, by definition, decrease – not necessarily through any fault of its own.

The Post-American World emphasizes how important it is for the United States to adapt its foreign policy to one that places it in the position of the world’s “honest broker,” a position that will allow it to exert its influence on the rest of the world without it forever having to play the role of the “world’s policeman.” Zakaria believes that America’s geographical location will help make this possible because so many countries are likely to get along better with the U.S. than they do with their closer neighbors with whom they develop conflicts if the U.S. adopts a philosophy of “consultation, cooperation, and even compromise.”

Fareed Zakaria sees “the rise of the rest” as a good thing and as an opportunity for the United States to wield its influence in a way that will benefit not only itself but the rest of the world. He makes the case that what is happening to the global economy has the potential of creating a more peaceful world than the one we have seen in the past and that the United States has a major role to play in the process if it is to be successful.

Some will argue that Zakaria is being overly optimistic, and perhaps they are correct. It remains to be seen what will happen as a result of so many of “the rest” competing for the same limited natural resources and whether or not any resulting conflicts can be peacefully resolved – or if the U.S. is even willing, or able, to adapt itself to the new status predicted by Zakaria. One would like to believe that the author is onto something here, but only time will tell. The Post-American World presents an interesting theory in only 259 well-written pages, helping to make it a must-read for those interested in political and economic theory.

Rated at: 4.0 ( )

Rise of the Rest

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. ( )

Excellent, incisive insight into current state of the world. Maybe not correct in all elements, but worth reading. ( )

This cogent discussion of the international political system argues for the U.S. to welcome China, India, and other rising nations to great power status and adopt a foreign policy that is humble, pragmatic, and paranoia-free. Zakaria is not the first to advise this; but his writing is simple, clear, and supported with easily understood examples. It was a delight to read.

Zakaria appears to believe without reservation in free trade and the gross benefits of globalization. He has very little to say about the preferred distribution of wealth within nations, perhaps because he's trying to keep his argument equally persuasive for liberal and conservative Americans. Zakaria is basically sanguine about America's economic prowess, and is more concerned that the U.S. is squandering its global political influence.

One distinct gap in the book is the lack of any discussion of how environmental sustainability fits in. Early on, Zakaria acknowledges that "the most acute problem of plenty is the impact of global growth on natural resources and the environment," but he doesn't discuss how sustainability, as a necessary goal of any modern nation's foreign and domestic policy, should be integrated into the worldview he presents. If achieving sustainability requires policy changes that undermine the flow of goods, capital, or labor (for example, by supporting local food production at the expense of imports), it's not clear how that would affect the rest of Zakaria's analysis. It would have been nice to hear why he's not concerned about this possibility. ( )

Fareed Zakaria argues that the "rise of the rest" as he calls the new state of affairs in the world is not something that the United States should fear. He believes that the US will continue to be the only true super-power in the world, but that the world will now become multi-polar.

Zakaria makes good points on the economic influence of the US. Unfortunately for him, his book suffers from bad timing as the current economic problems in the US make fear of globalism stoke even higher.

Zakaria also takes on the political sclerosis of the US, identifying continued partisanship and unwillingness to compromise as making it impossible to accomplish anything even on seemingly simple problems like energy policy. The problem is that he has no prescriptions for resolution.

Zakaria makes his best points when discussing how the US will need to conduct foreign policy in this post-American world. Obviously, the go-it-alone policy of the current administration has been completely discredited. So, Zakaria looks forward to a more realpolitik view again, where we do what is in the best interests of the US, while simultaneously working cooperatively with our allies so that they will see that the power of the US is nothing to fear. For me, the best line of the book was relegated to a footnote where Zakaria noted that foreign policy was best viewed as a matter of gains and losses and not of theology (paraphrase). ( )

Americans are used to having their country lead the world; we got in early on the Industrial Revolution and did well by it. Now India and China, each with a billion-plus population, are starting to catch up. Zakaria examines the current state of affairs, how we all got there, and where it's going, and recommends ways for America to lead in a world where no nation dominates. ( )