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The result was a combination of anarchy and Orwellian bureaucracy with horrifying consequences. Trucks with water and food were halted or diverted or refused entry by authorities—the supplies were not part of their plan. Bus requisitions were held up for days; the official request did not even reach the U.S. Department of Transportation until two d
... See moreAtul Gawande • The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
As did military command for Lincoln, who knew without having to read Clausewitz that wars, however ferocious, must serve, not consume, the states waging them. War could never be an end in itself, but it could be the means by which an endangered state saved itself. And Lincoln saw that a civil war—which he’d allowed to be forced upon him—might also
... See moreJohn Lewis Gaddis • On Grand Strategy
Weidenfeld & Nicolson • You Are Here: A Brief Guide to the World
De Lesseps’s grandiosity, or capacity for self-delusion, made him, like Eugène Bontoux, an exceptionally effective promoter.
Frederick Brown • For the Soul of France
I outlined three enormous challenges for the Digital Age: rising inequality, massive environmental degradation, and the risks arising from major geopolitical change. These daunting challenges could overload our political institutions and provoke a devastating conflict. Such has been the pattern of the past. Surely the prime task of our age is to re
... See moreJeffrey D. Sachs • The Ages of Globalization: Geography, Technology, and Institutions
Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global Politics
amazon.com
Embittered, Sharon agreed to step down as defense minister, but he remained in the government as a “minister without portfolio,” not responsible for any particular ministry. Humiliated and widely detested, it would have been difficult to imagine then that just two decades later, that same pugnacious Ariel Sharon would become prime minister and woul
... See moreDaniel Gordis • Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn
Stevenson, who is known for going into jails and prisons and spending hours upon hours sitting with defendants, hearing their stories, affirming their humanity, and offering them dignity.
Brad Stulberg • Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You
It is a conspicuous fact that, with few exceptions, the boundaries of the many historic townshipsv that lie along the line of Hadrian’s Wall do not butt up against it, as one might expect of such a great physical barrier, but straddle it.33 Historical geographers have established that the origins of many historic townships and parishes lie in their
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