A Superpower Transformed

Geopolitics and globalization collided in the 1970s, and their collision produced difficult challenges for the makers of American foreign policy. 'A Superpower Transformed' explains how policymakers across three administrations worked to manage complex international changes in a tumultuous era, and it explores the legacies of their efforts to accommodate American power to new forces stirring in world affairs.

Meet Michael Skelly, the man boldly harnessing wind energy that could power America’s future and break its fossil fuel dependence in this “essential, compelling look into the future of the nation’s power grid” (Bryan Burrough, author of The Big Rich). The United States is in the midst of an energy transition. We have fallen out of love with dirty fossil fuels and want to embrace renewable energy sources like wind and solar. A transition from a North American power grid that is powered mostly by fossil fuels to one that is predominantly clean is feasible, but it would require a massive building spree—wind turbines, solar panels, wires, and billions of dollars would be needed. Enter Michael Skelly, an infrastructure builder who began working on wind energy in 2000 when many considered the industry a joke. Eight years later, Skelly helped build the second largest wind power company in the United States—and sold it for $2 billion. Wind energy was no longer funny—it was well on its way to powering more than 6% of electricity in the United States. Award-winning journalist, Russel Gold tells Skelly’s story, which in many ways is the story of our nation’s evolving relationship with renewable energy. Gold illustrates how Skelly’s company, Clean Line Energy, conceived the idea for a new power grid that would allow sunlight where abundant to light up homes in the cloudy states thousands of miles away, and take wind from the Great Plains to keep air conditioners running in Atlanta. Thrilling, provocative, and important, Superpower is a fascinating look at America’s future.

It was one of the pivotal times of the twentieth century--during George Bush's presidency, an extraordinary series of international events took place that materially changed the face of the world. Now, former President Bush and his national security advisor, Brent Scowcroft, tell the story of those tumultuous years. Here are behind-the-scenes accounts of critical meetings in the White House and of summit conferences in Europe and the United States, interspersed with excerpts from Mr. Bush's diary. We are given fresh and intriguing views of world leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl, and François Mitterrand--and witness the importance of personal relationships in diplomacy. There is the dramatic description of how President Bush put together the alliance against Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War. There are the intensive diplomatic exchanges with Beijing following the events of Tiananmen Square, and the intricate negotiations leading up to German reunification. And there is the sometimes poignant, sometimes grim portrayal of Gorbachev's final years in power. A World Transformed is not simply a record of accomplishment; Bush and Scowcroft candidly recount how the major players sometimes disagreed over issues, and analyze what mistakes were made. This is a landmark book on the conduct of American foreign policy--and how that policy is crucial to the peace of the world. It is a fascinating inside look at great events that deepens our understanding of today's global issues.

Marina Zhang addresses her topic with vigor and a touch of involved passion that is often missing from the clinical analyses that frequent the China business bookshelves. The impact of technology on china's development and the way it is so thoroughly informing China's economic and social transformation is a significant insight which Ms. Zhang's book explores in well-researched detail and through fresh eyes. China 2.0 is a cogent and worthwhile addition to any china businessman's or scholar's bookshelf. - Clinton Dines, Former CEO, BHP Billiton China There is no lack of opinions about china, and certainly there is much information. Those that succeed know how to find information that is factual, rich and that can serve as a guide. That is what china 2.0 does. It is a resourceful guide for anyone looking for success in china's booming economy. - Scott Kronick, President, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Beijing Want to reach China's one billion consumers? then China 2.0 will be your indispensible guide to understanding this transforming giant, from leveraging Internet and Web 2.0 channels to working with China's emerging private capital markets. Don't venture into china without it! - Charlene Li, Partner, Altimeter Group, and Co-author of Groundswell A key question in china's evolution towards a fully modern economy is whether it can develop efficient and possibly new types of firm and new social institutions. This will depend heavily on how information comes to be handled. this pioneering book compellingly explores this highly significant new questions. - Gordon Redding, Professor of Asian Business, INSEAD, and Author of The Future of Chinese Capitalism The unique and compelling viewpoint offered by Marina Zhang on the changes in china, and the impact that new and emerging technologies are having in this transformation, makes China 2.0 a positive exception to the question of whether or not the world really needs another China business book. - Michael Ricks, CEO, Investor Growth capital Asia Limited and Former CEO, Ericsson China This book opens the lid on the new era that has begun inside China as it is transformed by the power of new technologies, led by Web 2.0. With insights that only an insider can bring, it deftly highlights the opportunities and challenges for business people, policymakers, researchers and students alike. If reading this book doesn't open your eyes, cause you to abandon old prejudices and lead you to redefine your responses to one of the most far-reaching developments in the world today, then nothing will! - Peter J. Williamson, Professor of International Management, Judge business School, University of Cambridge, and Author of Dragons at Your Door

America is disintegrating. The "one Nation under God, indivisible" of the Pledge of Allegiance is passing away. In a few decades, that America will be gone forever. In its place will arise a country unrecognizable to our parents. This is the thrust of Pat Buchanan's Suicide of a Superpower, his most controversial and thought-provoking book to date. Buchanan traces the disintegration to three historic changes: America's loss of her cradle faith, Christianity; the moral, social, and cultural collapse that have followed from that loss; and the slow death of the people who created and ruled the nation. And as our nation disintegrates, our government is failing in its fundamental duties, unable to defend our borders, balance our budgets, or win our wars. How Americans are killing the country they profess to love, and the fate that awaits us if we do not turn around, is what Suicide of a Superpower is all about.

This New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller is the perfect tool for children facing new social and emotional challenges in an increasingly disconnected world! This how-to book from two psychology experts--packed with fun graphics and quizzes--will help kids transform stress, worry, and anxiety. Give it to fans of The Confidence Code for Girls and Raina Telgemeier's Guts. Now more than ever, kids need to feel empowered as they work through anxiety, overwhelm, and uncertainty brought on by the world around them. With its helpful, hands-on suggestions and tips, SUPERPOWERED will be embraced by every kid with insecurities, worries, and anxious thoughts. Renee Jain (founder of GoZen!) and Dr. Shefali Tsabary (New York Times bestelling author and Oprah contributor) make readers the superheroes of their own stories. They introduce a toolkit of easy-to-understand methods for recognizing anxious behaviors, identifying the root causes of worried thinking, and realizing that strength can be found in reclaiming one's inner superpowers. With the help of humorous artwork and interactive elements, readers find their P.O.W.E.R. (an acronym that inspires mindfulness and resilience practices) and gain lasting mental strength.

Reagan’s Legacy in a World Transformed offers a timely retrospective on the fortieth president’s policies and impact on today’s world, from the influence of free market ideas on economic globalization, to the role of an assertive military in U.S. foreign policy, to reduction of nuclear arsenals in the interest of stability.

A bold and urgent perspective on how American foreign policy must change in response to the shifting world order of the twenty-first century, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Limits of Power and The Age of Illusions. The purpose of U.S. foreign policy has, at least theoretically, been to keep Americans safe. Yet as we confront a radically changed world, it has become indisputably clear that the terms of that policy have failed. Washington’s insistence that a market economy is compatible with the common good, its faith in the idea of the “West” and its “special relationships,” its conviction that global military primacy is the key to a stable and sustainable world order—these have brought endless wars and a succession of moral and material disasters. In a bold reconception of America’s place in the world, informed by thinking from across the political spectrum, Andrew J. Bacevich—founder and president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a bipartisan Washington think tank dedicated to foreign policy—lays down a new approach—one that is based on moral pragmatism, mutual coexistence, and war as a last resort. Confronting the threats of the future—accelerating climate change, a shift in the international balance of power, and the ascendance of information technology over brute weapons of war—his vision calls for nothing less than a profound overhaul of our understanding of national security. Crucial and provocative, After the Apocalypse sets out new principles to guide the once-but-no-longer sole superpower as it navigates a transformed world.