The Fourth Revolution by Micklethwait, Wooldridge

This book's full title is The Fourth Revolution: The Global Race to Reinvent the State by Adrian Wooldridge and John Micklethwait. You have to wonder if the Western countries like the US can really reform its government. I found it interesting in any event. I like to read books of authors with views that a very different from mine. However, at least these guys are thinking about how we can have better government.

I think that democracy in the Western world is in some trouble. We are highly in debt and politicians will not make any tough decisions. People seem polarized. US seem to be going with demagogues like South America and we know how that turns out. In Canada if you mention anything even slightly positive about Harper to any slightly left wing person the reaction is so extremely you would think that they are going to have a heart attack.

There is some good reviews on Good Reads. I very much like to review by Rosa Brooks at the NY Times.

There is an interview of the authors by Charlie Rose. There is a discussion about this book called Big Thinkers by Institute for Government.

Also, an index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. Follow me on Twitter.

Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall

This book's full title is Prisoners of Geography, Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World (or Geopolitics, if you are European). This is a delightful book and an interesting perspective on history and different countries. However, it is hard to believe that we human cannot get past the barriers that geography has thrown up for us.

Certainly, you can see how difficult it is with all the wars that seem to go on all the time. I do not believe there has been any year when the world has seen no war. This book is very readable and gives you a good idea of the geopolitics of our age.

There is a good review of this book by Daniel Dombey on Financial Times. It also brings up the point that geography is not everything. Of course, geography is not everything, but it can explain lots of things. As always, there are some really good reviews on Good Reads.

There is a BBC interview of Tim Marshall. There is a talk about this book by Tim Marshall on Vimeo. He talks about how geopolitics has changed our world. Kath Gerbeau interviews Tim Marshall. This is a short and just over 5 minute interview.

Also, an index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. Follow me on Twitter.