The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us and What We Can Do about It

by Joshua Cooper Ramo

Book Overview

Today the very ideas that made America great imperil its future. Our plans go awry and policies fail. History's grandest war against terrorism creates more terrorists. Global capitalism, intended to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316118087
• ISBN13: 9780316118088
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 279 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Good insights; don't look for "return to normal" anytime soon

Ramo's book combines considerable scholarship with a lively writing style to outline a world of increasing complexity, mashups and juxtapositions of trends. The same innovation driven "success" that powers Hizbollah also drives Silicon Valley -- distributed power, distributed intelligence and constant adaptation. He's not agreeing with the fanatical objectives of Hizbollah but merely illustrating how it has been successful in surviving. The best firms do the same. He suggests ways to harness the double edge sword of innovation/power to individuals. For me, the book nailed down my suspicions that "stability" will never return. Alvin Toffler noted similar trends thirty years ago but Ramo is more articulate and of course more up-to-date. Definitely a good read. Bill Yarberry Houston, Texas

Engaging and thought provoking book

Ramo's 2004 paper Beijing Consensus, which summarized China's development model in contrast to the Washington Consensus, became recommended reading for China's Politburo members - the 25 most powerful rulers in China. This one is even more ambitious, and continues the previous paper's underlying currents. It tries to offer a new framework to think about world events and policy decisions in the modern age, characterized by complex linkages, instant communication, and dynamic change. Given the size of the topic, I was worried that the book could be a collection of anecdotes - amusing or stimulating ones I am sure given Ramo's background - and not able to offer a compelling theme that ties disparate interviews together and to offer concrete suggestions for action. After I read it, I was impressed. The anecdotes are there and are engaging, but Ramo was able to build a superstructure that links them together. Even though I am not unfamiliar with many of Ramo's ideas, having lived in China and built an ecosystem like business in the Internet, I found myself referring to Ramo's superstructure often when I read news in the past few days. The book also resonates with a number of other ideas that have made impact in their respective fields recently. From Soros' idea of reflexivity and criticism of mainstream economists, to Moyo's book Dead Aid, an African woman's scathing critique of the top down government-to-government aid to Africa that in her opinion has worsened Africa's conditions. Criticism? There can be many. The book is simply too short to do justice to the topic. On the other hand, nobody would read a two thousand page brick, and by the time a bigger book is written it would be too late to help people today. My one suggestion to the author would be to expand on the idea of resilience further. I agree with Ramo that resilient, self-powered and self-censured networks like BitTorrent and Wikipedia will be a big part of the solutions to the many challenges we face. However, one could argue that an unregulated financial system in fact is such a network and this network turned out to be not resilient, but reflexive and disastrous when greed turned to fear. This is an important distinction: Greenspan's downfall was due to his failure to understand the inherent reflexivity of a (mostly) resilient system driven by greed. I hope our decision makers will all read this book. For the rest of us, all I can say is that I finished the book in two days, with plenty of moments when I paused for reflection. Engaging and thought provoking - what else can I ask for?

TRULY INSPIRING!

This is the first book that truly explains WHY our world is changing and gives us the HOPE that the world can be a better place shaped by technology, innovative leaders and great ideas. It provides a whole new framework for understanding how different societies will come together to create a new and positive world order. These days, most books and articles just talk about the `what'. Ramo give us the 'story behind the story' as he synthesizes the key people, forces, beliefs and trends that are shaping the economy, politics and religion. For me, Ramo has a great deal of credibility. Anyone who has worked with Henry Kissinger for years brings a real-life perspective that we don't get from talking heads on television or newspaper columnists. He's the right guy to write about the unthinkable revolution taking place around us. He tells a set of very engaging stories that bring the reader into places such as a tent with Hamas leaders to the studios of the most successful video game developer. He then uses those his travels to explain why so many things in the world order have changed dramatically - in a way that no one could have expected or contemplated. I now know so much more and can both think and talk about all the challenges we are facing with more insight. As importantly, I have a greater sense of the solutions. Overall, this is a very readable and valuable book. I've recommended it to my friends and am buying copies for the people I work with.

Eye Opener

As I read the book I am reminded of all the things I have said to people over the past 5 years, and thought about and find myself in awe that Joshua has written them down and expanded on it. I worked in Kiev on the breakup of the USSR and then in the Gulf during the first Gulf War and was very aware of these issues back then. I met with members of Congress, our intelligence agencies, even a sitting US president and was dumbstruck by their insistence on maintaining the status quo, even though it signaled failure in the long run. This is an important book, especially if it gets people talking, acting and at the very least thinking about our changing world.

fresh thinking for challenging times

Ramo has written a book for the very situation we are all facing - a complex world where traditional approaches are failing. Not just failing but often these old approaches exacerbate the very problem they are trying to address. Ramo has spent the last few years in China understanding how this rising giant will change the global scene in a non-linear manner. As an entrepreneur, I find the approaches of current foreign policy experts to be puzzling. Ramo points to a fresh approach which can break through key foreign policy logjams. I hope our own state department will buy some copies soon... J