Product Description

'This is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else'. So begins Fareed Zakaria's important new work on the era we are now entering. Following on the success of his best-selling "The Future of Freedom", Zakaria describes with equal prescience a world in which the United States will no longer dominate the global economy, orchestrate geopolitics, or overwhelm cultures. He sees the 'rise of the rest' - the growth of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia, and many others - as the great story of our time, and one that will reshape the world. The tallest buildings, biggest dams, largest-selling movies, and most advanced cell phones are all being built outside the United States. This economic growth is producing political confidence, national pride, and potentially international problems.How should the United States understand and thrive in this rapidly changing international climate? What does it mean to live in a truly global era? Zakaria answers these questions with his customary lucidity, insight, and imagination.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5414 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

The Observer
'thought provoking and important ... read Zakaria to know what has, should and will happen'

The Economist
'Zakaria's writing is clear and strong ... The Post-American World cites a dazzling array of anecdotes, incidents, quotations and statistics'

The New York Times
'a relentlessly intelligent book'

Customer Reviews

A compelling analysis of the potential (likely?) shifts in geopolitics in the 21st Century
The previous reviewer's skepticism, grounded in the fact that this book is sold in airport bookshops, is unfounded. Whilst Zakaria's arguments are not groundbreaking, he does offer a compelling account of what the future may hold. Differential rates of growth across the world (described pithily as 'the rise of the rest', as well as the shift away from the nation-state as the sole political actor, will probably see a fundamental change in the international order. This will be a slow, gradual process, and perhaps calling the product a 'post-American world' is going too far (although it is the best formulation yet, in my opinion, for the not quite uni-polar, not quite multi-polar world which is emerging). Nonetheless, for those interested in international relations and current affairs, this book is well worth reading.

An Extended Newsweek Article
One should be suspicious of a book on global affairs sold in airport bookshops. This is a lightweight, extended Newsweek article in which Zakaria quotes his friends a lot and makes no penetrating or original observations. The chapter on India is better than the rest of the book. As Foreign Policy Lite for the next US president it will probably secure Zakaria a place in the pantheon of policy advisors. Fair enough, Zakaria seems like a nice fellow, and is probably capable of better analysis than this volume represents.