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

Ramo, Joshua Cooper

Published by Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2009

About this Item

Fine condition white boards, white spine and red spine lettering contained in a fine condition non price-clipped color photographic dust jacket. Includes Dedication; Acknowledgments; Selected Sources; Index and About the Author. "Just a few years into a new century, we've arrived at a moment of peril that not long ago would have seemed unimaginable. All around us, the ideas and institutions that we once relied on for our safety and security are failing - and the best ideas of our leaders seem to make our problems worse, not better. A global war on terror produces, in the end, more dangerous terrorists. The fight to stop financial crisis seems to accelerate its arrival. Carefully negotiated peace plans produce less peace. This wasn't always the case. For decades, our engagement with the world was based on the seductive belief that there was a logical relationship between the power of states and the physics of change. But that traditional physics of power has been replaced by something radically different - and what we face isn't one single shift, like the end of World War II or the collapse of the Soviet Union, so much as an unprecedented avalanche of ceaseless, unthinkable change. Fortunately, there's hope. In The Age of the Unthinkable, Joshua Cooper Ramo puts forth a revolutionary new model for thinking about - and thriving in - this world of the unpredictable. After all, great historical shifts don't only produce losers. They also create a whole new cast of historical champions, new fortunes, and ideas that can endure for centuries. Ramo explains precisely why our current way of thinking, and the policies that result, backfire. Drawing upon history, economics, complexity theory, psychology, human immunology, and the science of networks, Ramo describes a landscape of inherent unpredictability - and remarkable possibility. Finding surprising lessons from people as diverse as Silicon Valley titans, relentless Islamic terrorists, legendary spy-masters, unconventional physicists, and innovative game designers, The Age of the Unthinkable reveals a breathtaking new framework for facing the challenges ahead. At a time of change and perpetual surprise, [the book] offers both clarity and hope - hope that the most unthinkable thing of all may be that each of us has the power to save the world." - from the inner front and rear jacket flaps. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joshua Cooper Ramo is managing director at Kissinger Associates, one of the world's leading geostrategic advisory firms. Seller Inventory # 003759

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New ...

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, New York

Publication Date: 2009

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

Edition: 1st Edition