Book Review: The Post American World

I recently read the book, "Post American world" by Fareed Zakaria. It is a very good book. This one goes into my list of books, that i should buy soon.

There is a famous saying, "The sun never sets in the British Empire". The Britain was a great empire. When the queens birthday came, there were celebrations in all parts of the world. It is really amazing, how a small country, was able to control the entire world for so many years. But now, that mighty British Empire is no more. America and Russia took over as the worlds most powerful countries after the world war. But, after the end of cold war, America is literally the uncontested leader, far above than any of its competitor in any field possible - military, politics, economy, technology, research to name a few.

The main question raised in the book is, "If such a mighty British Empire can fall, what can possibly happen to the US in the next few decades?" There are striking differences between the British Empire in 1900 compared to the US now, but there are few similarities too. Rise of China and India are often compared to the rise of the US and Germany in 1900. Can the rise of China and India bring down America? There are two separate chapters focusing on the rise of India and China, not just because they are the two fastest growing countries in the world. But also because they paint a good picture of the foreign policy difficulties that the US is about to face in the future.

I have read a book, "The world is flat", by Thomas Friedman. I should say both these books go hand in hand. They both talk about the impact of globalization on the world economy and politics. But this book, also talks about the policy issues from the US point of view and also the rest. Also discusses the plus and minus of the current US policies and explains in detail, what needs to be done, in order to regain the momentum and give life to the fading American Dream.

And when it comes to india, the book deals about the current challenges that we are facing, and the relationship between India and the US. Did you notice the recent state elections? The central issues in the country, including Terrorism, didnt take the centre stage, rather more local issues ruled the elections, one main reason why Congress was able to win. The author have talked about this "local" politics taking a big leap in the country and have compared it to the US during 1920.

Well, anyways, it is really a good book. Give it a read, and you wont regret.