The World: A Brief Introduction by Richard Haass (English) Hardcover Book

Description: The World by Richard Haass 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. FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description New York Times BestsellerAn invaluable primer from Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, that will help anyone, expert and non-expert alike, navigate a time in which many of our biggest challenges come from the world beyond our borders.The New York Times bestseller"A clear and concise account of the history, diplomacy, economics, and societal forces that have molded the modern global system." -Foreign AffairsAn invaluable primer from Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, that will help anyone, expert and non-expert alike, navigate a time in which many of our biggest challenges come from the world beyond our borders.Like it or not, we live in a global era, in which what happens thousands of miles away has the ability to affect our lives. This time, it is a Coronavirus known as Covid-19, which originated in a Chinese city many had never heard of but has spread to the corners of the earth. Next time it could well be another infectious disease from somewhere else. Twenty years ago it was a group of terrorists trained in Afghanistan and armed with box-cutters who commandeered four airplanes and flew them into buildings (and in one case a field) and claimed nearly three thousand lives. Next time it could be terrorists who use a truck bomb or gain access to a weapon of mass destruction. In 2016 hackers in a nondescript office building in Russia traveled virtually in cyberspace to manipulate Americas elections. Now they have burrowed into our political life. In recent years, severe hurricanes and large fires linked to climate change have ravaged parts of the earth; in the future we can anticipate even more serious natural disasters. In 2008, it was a global financial crisis caused by mortgage-backed securities in America, but one day it could well be a financial contagion originating in Europe, Asia, or Africa. This is the new normal of the 21st century.The World is designed to provide readers of any age and experience with the essential background and building blocks they need to make sense of this complicated and interconnected world. 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. While it is impossible to predict what the next crisis will be or where it will originate, those who read The World will have what they need to understand its basics and the principal choices for how to respond.In short, this book will make readers more globally literate and put them in a position to make sense of this era. 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 todays world to anyone anywhere. U.S. foreign policy is uniquely American, but the world Americans seek to shape is not. Globalization can be both good and bad, but it is not something that individuals or countries can opt out of. Even if we want to ignore the world, it will not ignore us. The choice we face is how to respond.We are connected to this world in all sorts of ways. We need to better understand it, both its promise and its threats, in order to make informed choices, be it as students, citizens, voters, parents, employees, or investors. To help readers do just that, 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 Haasss The World is an evergreen book that will remain relevant and useful as history continues to unfold. Author Biography Dr. Richard Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations. An experienced diplomat and policymaker, he served as the senior Middle East adviser to President George H. W. Bush, as director of the Policy Planning Staff under Secretary of State Colin Powell, and as the U.S. envoy to both the Cyprus and Northern Ireland peace talks. A recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal, the State Departments Distinguished Honor Award, and the Tipperary International Peace Award, he is also the author or editor of fourteen other books, including the best-selling A World in Disarray. Review "This book is a superb introduction to the world and global issues. Richard Haass has been able to write something that is brief, readable and yet comprehensive—marked throughout by his trademark intelligence and common sense." —Fareed Zakaria"A clear and concise account of the history, diplomacy, economics, and societal forces that have molded the modern global system." —Foreign Affairs"Condensing so much complexity into a lucid 400 pages is no small accomplishment." —The New York Times"This is the book that explains how the world really works, how it is changing, and why it matters. Just what every citizen and student needs to read." —Madeleine Albright "This terrific work delivers completely on its promise to provide readers with a basic understanding of the world. It is hard to imagine anyone more suited for this ambitious task than Richard Haass. His narrative flair, depth of experience, and wide-ranging knowledge sparkle on every page." —Doris Kearns Goodwin "Richard Haass has just reinvented the primer—something for everyone to read this summer. High school students, undergrads, grads in all disciplines and a few people in the nations capital will benefit." —Rachel Kyte, Dean, The Fletcher School, Tufts University"An essential book—just what the world needs now to put things in perspective." —Ray Dalio "Richard Haass explains the world to us in a thoughtful, comprehensive and accessible way. At a time when our world is changing faster than ever—and becoming more interconnected and complex—it has never been more important to be globally literate. Our future depends on it." —Arne Duncan"A comprehensive analysis of our world—a valuable guide for every alert citizen as well as for scholars and students of international affairs." —New York Journal of Books "We are all being bombarded by strong views designed to conjure up emotion over sound judgement, which makes it very grounding to have The World. It is a great read for anyone who wants to have a sound background before deciding to retweet the latest crazy article making the rounds!" —Kal Penn"This is a great book that every high school and college student, as well as teachers and parents, should read. An indispensable resource to educate global citizens." —Professor Fernando M. Reimers, Harvard Graduate School of Education"The World explains important concepts clearly and fairly and offers an excellent overview of global affairs . . . Those who read and even study The World will be educated, stimulated and challenged. They will become better global citizens." —Washington Diplomat "One core premise of this necessary book is that the three great scourges of our time—COVID-19, nuclear weaponry and climate change—cannot be resolved without a global outlook. Dr. Richard Haass, author of The World and 14 other books, is here to teach us. This book is aimed at a wide, inclusive audience. Haass style is fulsome yet facile. He guides us on a rich, region-by-region world tour. The most fascinating feature of each treatment is looking ahead—his fearless, in some cases, provocative analysis of what he feels is in store for a given corner of the globe." —Providence Journal Review Quote "This is the book that explains how the world really works, how it is changing, and why it matters. Just what every citizen and student needs to read." --Madeleine Albright "This terrific work delivers completely on its promise to provide readers with a basic understanding of the world. It is hard to imagine anyone more suited for this ambitious task than Richard Haass. His narrative flair, depth of experience, and wide-ranging knowledge sparkle on every page." -Doris Kearns Goodwin "An essential book--just what the world needs now to put things in perspective." -Ray Dalio "Richard Haass explains the world to us in a thoughtful, comprehensive and accessible way. At a time when our world is changing faster than ever--and becoming more interconnected and complex--it has never been more important to be globally literate. Our future depends on it." -Arne Duncan "We are all being bombarded by strong views designed to conjure up emotion over sound judgement, which makes it very grounding to have The World . It is a great read for anyone who wants to have a sound background before deciding to retweet the latest crazy article making the rounds!" -Kal Penn Promotional "Headline" New York Times Bestseller An invaluable primer from Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, that will help anyone, expert and non-expert alike, navigate a time in which many of our biggest challenges come from the world beyond our borders. Excerpt from Book From the Thirty Years War to the Outbreak of World War I (1618-1914) The modern international system has its roots in seventeenth-century Europe. This continent was the center of the world because it had harnessed new technologies that proved critical to producing goods and crops and to transportation, publishing, and fighting wars. As is often the case, transition was marked by conflict. The critical event was the Thirty Years War, a war that began in 1618, contained both political and religious dimensions, and was fought both within and across borders by many of the major European powers of the era. Until then Europe was made up of a patchwork quilt of empires and small kingdoms. Religious and political authorities regularly confronted one another over territory and power. Borders were not respected; wars and lower-level forms of meddling were commonplace. When the dust settled, countries emerged as an alternative to empires and principalities. Empires were often ruled from afar, which did not engender loyalty in citizens, and their large size made them inefficient to govern. Small principalities, in contrast, lacked the scale needed to compete for foreign markets or pool the resources necessary to wage war effectively. People proved more willing to devote themselves to governments they saw as their own. The emergence of a world composed of independent countries that respected one anothers independence turned out to be a major innovation, one that introduced a greater degree of stability and peace but also created a capacity to make war on a level never before seen. The Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years War in 1648, codified this new understanding. The treaty in many ways established the modern international system, one dominated by countries and the principle of sovereignty. The concept of sovereignty had three basic dimensions. First, countries should accept the borders of other countries and not use force in an attempt to change them. Second, countries should not interfere in events inside other countries. Third, governments should have a free hand to do as they please within their own borders. These three notions may not seem to amount to all that much, but they represented a major step forward, one that if honored would have dramatically reduced the instability and violence that had become relatively commonplace in the world. European nations, however, often violated the sovereignty of their neighbors, which explains, in part, why the history of this continent has been so violent and destructive. The Treaty of Westphalia did, however, introduce a period of relative peace. Europe did not descend into another major war or, to be more precise, a series of wars until the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, the brilliant, ambitious French general turned politician turned emperor. He came to power following a revolution in France that-like most revolutions-ended in excess and disorder. After a number of military victories that gave him control of much of Europe, Napoleon became overextended, electing to fight too many foes on too many fronts, and was finally defeated by a coalition that included Austria, Prussia, Russia, and the United Kingdom. The victors and the vanquished (minus Napoleon) came together in Vienna in 1814 and 1815 and created a settlement designed to prevent France from threatening its neighbors and to make it more difficult for revolutionary movements to overthrow the unelected governments of the day. The Congress of Vienna also made the wise choice of integrating a defeated France into the new order rather than penalizing and ostracizing it and potentially sowing the seeds of a France that would one day rise and try to overthrow the order. The Congress of Vienna produced what became known as the Concert of Europe, a name that suggests the diplomatic equivalent of an orchestra of musicians playing together. This system was centered on Europe, but it nonetheless constituted much of the international order of its day given the dominant position of Europe and Europeans in the world at the start of the nineteenth century. In fact, by the middle of the nineteenth century, Western Europe accounted for roughly one-third of global economic output, eclipsing China and India and maintaining a substantial lead over the United States. The Concert put into practice understandings that were at the core of the Treaty of Westphalia, above all ruling out invasion of another member country or any involvement in the internal affairs of another participant in the Concert without its permission. The Concert had a decidedly conservative bias, meaning that it favored the continued rule of existing dynasties and opposed revolutionary impulses. Beyond the obvious self-interest of rulers, what also allowed the arrangement to hold for as long as it did was the balance of military power in Europe that made it unattractive for any individual country to go against its principles. The Concert technically lasted until the eve of World War I, but it ceased to play a meaningful role decades before then. It is a matter of judgment as to when it effectively ended, but I would argue for the middle of the nineteenth century, when most of the major powers had a falling-out with Russia over Crimea. This was an early conflict over who would come to control lands then part of the declining Ottoman Empire. It was followed by wars between Prussia (the principal forerunner of modern Germany) and both Austria and France. As will be discussed below, what remained of the Concert could not survive the rise of Germany, which was unified under the Prussian minister president Otto von Bismarck in 1871 and under his successors disrupted European stability. Beyond Europe It would be an error to limit a review of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century history to Europe, even though Europe was the part of the world where the most powerful and influential entities of this era were to be found. A great deal of the world-parts of the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, the Americas, and East Asia-was colonized, mostly by European countries (principally Britain, France, Portugal, and Spain, and to a lesser extent Germany and Italy), but also by Japan and the United States. The principal motive was economic, although matters of national pride and the pursuit of glory were not far behind. For China, the nineteenth century began well enough; its economy was relatively large, in part because of profitable trading relations with the British and others. But the century proved to be anything but glorious. It was a time that came to be marked by unimaginative imperial rule, internal challenges to central authority, and foreign aggression against China, including the Opium Wars, in which Britain forced China to participate in an opium trade that China wanted no part of given the effect of the drug on its citizens. These conflicts were followed by a series of incursions into China on the part of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and Russia, which in turn set off a scramble among these powers for economic concessions from China, which had fallen far behind the European powers economically, administratively, and militarily. This reality would not change until well into the second half of the twentieth century. The period beginning with the Opium Wars and ending with Mao Zedongs proclamation of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949 has become known to the Chinese as the "century of humiliation" and continues to shape how Chinas citizens view the world. Chinas current government argues that a China in internal disarray invites aggression from foreign powers and that only a strong central government can hold China together. The Communist Party employs this argument to justify its dominance. Japan began the nineteenth century the same way it had begun and ended the two previous centuries, largely isolated from the outside world. In 1853, the United States (a Pacific country looking for new markets) led the charge to open Japan to trade with the outside world. When American warships showed up uninvited to demand access to Japanese markets, Japan gave in because there was no way it could hold its own militarily. Like China, it was forced to make humiliating economic and legal concessions to outsiders. These concessions proved to be widely unpopular in Japan and helped trigger a successful political challenge to the ruling shogun (the general who was first among equals among fellow feudal lords). By 1868, the imperial order had been restored under the emperor Meiji. Meiji (which means "the enlightened ruler") ruled Japan for nearly fifty years, until 1912, a period widely described as the Meiji Restoration in which the modern Japanese state was established. Unlike China, Japan followed a course parallel to what was taking place in Europe and the United States. A modern bureaucratic government and administrative apparatus was established in Tokyo to oversee the entire country. Japan implemented an industrial policy and built a modern military. It also followed the European imperial example in the last two decades of the century. While the British, French, Germans, and others were occupying or controlling large swaths of the Middle East, Africa, and parts of Asia, Japan was establishing control over parts of Korea, Taiwan, and China. Japan handily defeated Russia in their 1904-1905 war, marking the first time during the modern era that an Asian power was victorious over a European one. Japan, like the major European powers of the day, was caught up in a wave of nationalist pride. In the so-called New World, there were the British colonies in North America, which by the middle of the eighteenth century had grown increasingly frustrated over being f Description for Sales People An essential primer on international relations and how the world works the will help readers make informed decisions. Much like Astrophysics For People in a Hurry, but for world affairs. Dr. Richard Haass leads the influential Council on Foreign Relations. Few US diplomats are as respected or admired. HBO and VICE collaborated to make a documentary of his last book, A World in Disarray, which sold over 37k copies. Theres no comparable accessible text on the basics of foreign policy from a diplomat of Haasss stature. Details ISBN0399562397 Author Richard Haass Pages 400 Language English Year 2020 ISBN-10 0399562397 ISBN-13 9780399562396 Format Hardcover Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc Short Title The World Subtitle A Brief Introduction Publication Date 2020-05-12 UK Release Date 2020-05-12 Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States US Release Date 2020-05-12 Imprint The Penguin Press DEWEY 327.09 Audience General NZ Release Date 2021-03-15 AU Release Date 2021-03-15 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:129834366;

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