Synopses & Reviews
In
Warrior Politics, the esteemed journalist and analyst Robert D. Kaplan explores the wisdom of the ages for answers for today's leaders. While the modern world may seem more complex and dangerous than ever before, Kaplan writes from a deeper historical perspective to reveal how little things actually change. Indeed, as Kaplan shows us, we can look to history's most influential thinkers, who would have understood and known how to navigate todays dangerous political waters.
Drawing on the timeless work of Sun Tzu, Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Hobbes, among others, Kaplan argues that in a world of unstable states and an uncertain future, it is increasingly imperative to wrest from the past what we need to arm ourselves for the road ahead. Wide-ranging and accessible, Warrior Politics is a bracing book with an increasingly important message that challenges readers to see the world as it is, not as they would like it to be.
Review
"[T]his is not among Kaplan's best books....The intellectually informed empiricism that made his previous books so compelling is absent. The book could also be misinterpreted as an apology for the worst sort of international exercise of power....However, this is an important book that cautions against the well-intentioned liberal idea that we should export the political ideas that have worked in this country to areas of the world that lack our history, literacy, economic success and egalitarian culture." Steven E. Alford, The Houston Chronicle
Review
"There is much to praise in Kaplan's sober realism, his genuine knowledge of the world's danger zones, and his justified contempt for liberal good intentions when they are not backed by steel and will." The New York Review of Books
Review
"[A] fascinating intellectual exercise." Newsweek
Review
"An insightful, timely book. Citing philosophers from Sun-Tzu to Machiavelli, the author shows the value of ancient insights into human nature in formulating international policy." Booklist
Review
"[Kaplans] comparison of the United States in 2001 with the complacent Roman Empire will be a wake-up call for many readers. His philosophical polemic is well worth reading in these anxious times." Library Journal
Review
"Kaplan draws on a rich humanist tradition to shatter the illusion of a collective, post-cold war vision of human progress....[He] has become the Ayn Rand of international affairs, saying what few dare to say." New Statesman
Review
"Warrior Politics is a compelling text, laden with astute observations about ancient and modern times, but the book's major flaw lies in one essentially unaddressed question: What is the value of fighting to preserve a world order that relies on overt cynicism and double-dealing? Kaplan may be right to claim that the only way to live is to understand that war is an eternal part of life...but there may also be some value in accepting destruction rather than compromising deeply held beliefs. Kaplan offers a rational thesis, but it comes packaged with an uncomfortable chill." Noel Murray, The Onion A.V. Club
Review
"One of the most thought-provoking and profound books that I have recently read. As readable as it is stimulating." Henry Kissinger
Review
"Kaplan skillfully captures the relevance of classical political theory for todays leaders, whether they manage crises in the boardroom or the Oval Office." William S. Cohen, former secretary of defense
Review
"Warrior Politics should be read by every citizen deeply concerned about America's role in the world." Newt Gingrich
Review
"The reason I have come to admire Bob Kaplan's little book...is its refusal to apologize for its analogies. This is so refreshing....What Kaplan is saying and what Hobbes and Machiavelli and some of the Founders said was that such realism is in fact more moral than idealism. Idealism in state craft is based on an abdication of responsibility to govern the world as it is." Andrew Sullivan
Synopsis
Bestselling author Robert D. Kaplan, whose counsel has been sought by both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, has written a bracing inquiry into what a successful leader must do to navigate the world's increasingly treacherous political waters.
In a book that challenges us to see the world as it is, Kaplan offers the lessons of the great thinkers of history from Thucydides to Winston Churchill for whom a clear-eyed pragmatism was the most important guiding principle. Kaplan argues that it is more imperative than ever to understand how the struggles of today are strikingly similar to those of the past, and to wrest from the past what we need to arm ourselves for the future.
Synopsis
In
Warrior Politics, the esteemed journalist and analyst Robert D. Kaplan explores the wisdom of the ages for answers for todays leaders. While the modern world may seem more complex and dangerous than ever before, Kaplan writes from a deeper historical perspective to reveal how little things actually change. Indeed, as Kaplan shows us, we can look to historys most influential thinkers, who would have understood and known how to navigate todays dangerous political waters.
Drawing on the timeless work of Sun Tzu, Thucydides, Machiavelli, Hobbes, among others, Kaplan argues that in a world of unstable states and an uncertain future, it is increasingly imperative to wrest from the past what we need to arm ourselves for the road ahead. Wide-ranging and accessible, Warrior Politics is a bracing book with an increasingly important message that challenges readers to see the world as it is, not as they would like it to be.
About the Author
Robert D. Kaplan is a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly and the bestselling author of eight previous books on foreign affairs and travel, including Balkan Ghosts, The Ends of the Earth, The Coming Anarchy, and Eastward to Tartary. He is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington. He lives with his wife and son in western Massachusetts.