The rise of advanced technology and a globalized economy have changed, well, everything—and modern warfare is no exception. So to understand how and why war happens today, don’t start memorizing history textbooks; instead, check out the five eye-opening reads below.
Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace
By Christopher Blattman
Why We Fight lays out the root causes and remedies for war, showing that violence is not the norm; that there are only five reasons why conflict wins over compromise; and how peacemakers turn the tides through tinkering, not transformation. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Christopher Blattman, in the Next Big Idea App
The World for Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources
By Javier Blas and Jack Farchy
Two acclaimed journalists take the reader into the back alleys of high-powered global trade, showing how capitalism really works and who really profits. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-authors Javier Blas and Jack Farchy, in the Next Big Idea App
Price Wars: How the Commodities Markets Made Our Chaotic World
By Rupert Russell
A fascinating, groundbreaking exposé of how commodity traders in New York and London have destabilized societies all over the world, leaving the most vulnerable at the mercy of hunger, chaos, and war. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Rupert Russell, in the Next Big Idea App
To Rule the Waves: How Control of the World’s Oceans Shapes the Fate of the Superpowers
By Bruce Jones
From a brilliant Brookings Institution writer comes a vivid, timely, and insightful examination of the critical role that oceans play in the daily struggle for global power. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Bruce Jones, in the Next Big Idea App
The Wires of War: Technology and the Global Struggle for Power
By Jacob Helberg
From the former news policy lead at Google, an urgent and groundbreaking account of the high-stakes global cyberwar brewing between Western democracies and the autocracies of China and Russia that could potentially crush democracy. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Jacob Helberg, in the Next Big Idea App
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