A knowledgeable, sobering assessment of one of the most consequential geopolitical situations in the world.
A grim analysis of the “new order of three great powers.”
It’s fittingly Orwellian that the three great powers today roughly correspond to the prophesy of 1984—namely, the U.S., Russia, and China. The U.S. and Russia are in more or less direct conflict today, writes CNN national security correspondent Sciutto, author of The Madman Theory and The Shadow War, in Ukraine. China is watching carefully, notes the author, as it refines plans for a blitzkrieg war on Taiwan “while the world was preoccupied elsewhere.” Taiwanese military planners see the war in Ukraine as similar to their own, though in at least some sense they’re better equipped to defend their territory. As the author notes, military doctrine holds that an attacker needs to outnumber a defender by three to one, yet Ukraine’s costly counteroffensive has been close to parity, which explains what now appears to be an unbreakable stalemate. The conflict in Ukraine has had an immediate effect in reinvigorating NATO and making it more relevant, “reoriented…to its original mission, defending Europe against Russia and, now, a second strategic adversary in China.” Ukraine has done a good job of bleeding Russia’s army nearly dry, but that does nothing to diminish Russian naval and nuclear power, the former being exerted vigorously in the Arctic, the latter a constant looming threat. Another variable is the continued presence of Trump on the scene, a man who represents Sciutto’s observation that “today’s world is as rich in accommodationists as the world of the late 1930s.” Cleareyed without sensationalism, Sciutto’s text closes with the suggestion that China can be seen as the larger long-term threat and that dealing with Beijing will require clear negotiations on areas of both competition (semiconductors) and cooperation (climate change).
A knowledgeable, sobering assessment of one of the most consequential geopolitical situations in the world.Pub Date: March 12, 2024
ISBN: 978-0593474136
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.
Words that made a nation.
Isaacson is known for expansive biographies of great thinkers (and Elon Musk), but here he pens a succinct, stimulating commentary on the Founding Fathers’ ode to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” His close reading of the Declaration of Independence’s second sentence, published to mark the 250th anniversary of the document’s adoption, doesn’t downplay its “moral contradiction.” Thomas Jefferson enslaved hundreds of people yet called slavery “a cruel war against human nature” in his first draft of the Declaration. All but 15 of the document’s 56 signers owned enslaved people. While the sentence in question asserted “all men are created equal” and possess “unalienable rights,” the Founders “consciously and intentionally” excluded women, Native Americans, and enslaved people. And yet the sentence is powerful, Isaacson writes, because it names a young nation’s “aspirations.” He mounts a solid defense of what ought to be shared goals, among them economic fairness, “moral compassion,” and a willingness to compromise. “Democracy depends on this,” he writes. Isaacson is excellent when explaining how Enlightenment intellectuals abroad influenced the founders. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Declaration’s “five-person drafting committee,” stayed in David Hume’s home for a month in the early 1770s, “discussing ideas of natural rights” with the Scottish philosopher. Also strong is Isaacson’s discussion of the “edits and tweaks” made to Jefferson’s draft. As recommended by Franklin and others, the changes were substantial, leaving Jefferson “distraught.” Franklin, who emerges as the book’s hero, helped establish municipal services, founded a library, and encouraged religious diversity—the kind of civic-mindedness that we could use more of today, Isaacson reminds us.
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781982181314
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.
Portraits in a post-pandemic world.
After the Covid-19 lockdowns left New York City’s streets empty, many claimed that the city was “gone forever.” It was those words that inspired Stanton, whose previous collections include Humans of New York (2013), Humans of New York: Stories (2015), and Humans (2020), to return to the well once more for a new love letter to the city’s humanity and diversity. Beautifully laid out in hardcover with crisp, bright images, each portrait of a New Yorker is accompanied by sparse but potent quotes from Stanton’s interviews with his subjects. Early in the book, the author sequences three portraits—a couple laughing, then looking serious, then the woman with tears in her eyes—as they recount the arc of their relationship, transforming each emotional beat of their story into an affecting visual narrative. In another, an unhoused man sits on the street, his husky eating out of his hand. The caption: “I’m a late bloomer.” Though the pandemic isn’t mentioned often, Stanton focuses much of the book on optimistic stories of the post-pandemic era. Among the most notable profiles is Myles Smutney, founder of the Free Store Project, whose story of reclaiming boarded‑up buildings during the lockdowns speaks to the city’s resilience. In reusing the same formula from his previous books, the author confirms his thesis: New York isn’t going anywhere. As he writes in his lyrical prologue, “Just as one might dive among coral reefs to marvel at nature, one can come to New York City to marvel at humanity.” The book’s optimism paints New York as a city where diverse lives converge in moments of beauty, joy, and collective hope.
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781250277589
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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