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Dec 19, 2016DBRL_KrisA rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
America has been at the top of the heap for roughly the last 100 years, economically, politically and militarily. This is a good, clear explanation of how that's about to change - not because of something we're doing wrong, but because of what the "2nd-tier" nations like Brazil, Russia, and especially India and China are doing right. Zakaria breaks down how the US got into the position of world leader, what has happened to previous world leaders like us, how these developing countries are poised to overtake us economically, and what we need to do to continue to matter in the new world. He makes sure to clarify that this is not about what's wrong with America, but more about how the world is changing and how we need to change to continue to matter. My only real complaint about the book is actually a problem with myself - I have this strange inability to understand economics, and this book is, at its base, about the US's waning economic power. But as a student of international studies, I enjoyed how Zakaria recognized that it's all tied together - economics, military power, foreign policy, religion and other cultural factors all have a bearing on how nations interact with each other. It will take a complete mindshift in our understanding of other countries for us to continue to be relevant.