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| The Post-American World | 
 enlarge | Author: Fareed Zakaria
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $15.45
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Avg. Customer Rating:  158 reviews
Sales Rank: 147
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 6.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 039306235X
Dewey Decimal Number: 303.49
EAN: 9780393062359
ASIN: 039306235X
Publication Date: May 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 OK, BUT... July 31, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
The author makes the case that the world of the 21st century will be multipolar, with the U.S. not declining in absolute but in relative terms. Zakaria documents his opinions well and makes for good reading. However, I remained unconvinced of two of his assertions: one, that India will be one of the global powers of this century, based on niceties such as its democratic system and the imagined fascination about all things Indian that he attributes to Americans; judging by the evidence stemming from overwhelming poverty, India's inclusion in Zakaria's wishful list may be the product of his upbringing in that country rather than cold facts. The other missing point is his almost total exclusion of the European Union as one of the world's powerhouses of the near future. Particularly when considering Europe's output, social indicators and expansion to the East and the rest of the globe, making almost no mention of the importance of the EU in the world to come seems as glaring a flaw as the absence of evidence to support his forecasts about India. We may not have to wait 100 years to confirm it.
 Zakaria is a pragmatic realist May 12, 2008
8 out of 13 found this review helpful
Zakaria begins by giving the reader a dose of reality- America is no longer the leader or innovator in many categories. There are better cell phones, taller buildings and larger casinos in other countries. It seems that America should restructure its policy in a world that is more level with us as opposed to from the pinnacle of technology and democracy.
Zakaria believes that America should embrace its competition and globalization. he again points out that "majority rule" in other countries may be seen as a democratization on a superficial level, but is actually not always a suitable form of government for America's interests.
This work is superbly written and deserves much attention as America chooses its next President.
-Tahir Rahman, author of We Came in Peace for all Mankind: the untold story of the Apollo 11 silicon disc
One World May 17, 2008
8 out of 16 found this review helpful
An excellent book in predicting how the world will look like in 20-30 years. Globalization is the story of our age. Mr. Zakaria's background and world travel gave him an advantageous vintage point in assessing the world affairs and the trend for the next few decades.
Average reader will greatly benefit from reading the book. For example, the rise of China and India will affect the world in a very fundamental way because of the combined population of 2.5 billion. Globalization is not a blessing for everyone, it is rather harmful for the standard of living for 80% of the people in the developed world. But it is important to realize that it is not possible to stop such a trend, just as it is not morally correct to deny the right to development for China and India. Chinese and Indians are equal humans as the people in the west, they are not sub humans, they have every right to pursue happiness in life, to get rich, to produce, to consume, to release CO2 just like all of us living in the west. Even though all this CO2 will accelerate climate change which is harmful for all, how can we ask the Chinese or Indian to maintain one fourth to one tenth the amount CO2 released per person as we Americans? Should they take bus while they can drive, should they not take warm bath while they can?
If you are not happy with such a trend (rise of the rest), the most important thing that you can get from this book is the realization that it is inevitable. We must come to grips with the reality and try to make the best of it. The optimism he projects in his book is not the key point, he may not even really believe in it. Dislocations are wide spread in rural America and the small towns of America, he must know about it. But again, what can you do? Why should a worker in Oklahoma make 10 times the salary than the worker in Zhejiang, China while they both make 100 pairs of socks a day? They should be paid about the same - as long as the socks can be moved around, meaning "free trade".
schizophrenic view of the world July 24, 2008
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
Contrary to the title, this book is not about the demise of America. It is about the rise of the rest of the world and its global implications.
The author makes somtimes contradictory statements. For example, he firmly believes that India will economically surpass China mainly because India is a democratic country (democracy is better for long term economic growth he says). His conclusion ignores his own data that India is growing at 6.9% versus China's 9%, the China's economy is about 3 times as large, and there is no indication China is slowing down anytime soon. And he ignores some major long term problems in India, such as its decisively 3rd world literacy rate (around 60%).
The same goes for his purported demise of America. He says that America has too many long term competitive advantages (democracy, top notch universities, market flexibility, willing to accept immigrants, demographic trends etc) to be relegated to anything less than a superpower in the next few decades. So how does that translate into a "Post American World"? America just will not be AS influencial, says the author, since it must share its power with the rest of the world.
It appears the author has trouble coming to a firm conclusion on most subjects except that there is an unprecedented global economic growth.
The Post American World May 23, 2008
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
An absolutely riveting book. It makes a very persuasive case of where the balance of power is today and how it is rapidly shifting to a multi polar stage. The rise of China, India, Brazil, Russia etc. is inevitable yet healthy for the world. A more thoughtful version of "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman. A must read.
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