Alice BaudryHead of international affairs at the Montaigne Institute
Foreign Policy
The Geopolitics of Emotion: How Cultures of Fear, Humiliation, and Hope Are Reshaping the World, by Dominique Moïsi. A senior adviser at the Montaigne Institute, Moïsi picks an original lens through which he maps the world: understanding the clash of emotions—fear, humiliation, and hope.
Fiction
The Promised Land, by Erich Maria Remarque. This final (and unfinished) novel by Remarque, about a German Jewish immigrant going through Ellis Island to reach America, is a powerful reminder of the war, the discrimination, the memories of inhuman experiences, and the fate of Jews in the postwar years.
Home Country (France)
Une initiation. Rwanda (1994–2016), by Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau. An exceptional, disturbing, thought-provoking book by Audoin-Rouzeau, a French anthropologist and historian. This very informative nonfiction work is about the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, in which over 800,000 victims were killed in three months. What happened, and why? Throughout the book, Audoin-Rouzeau reminds the reader of these questions in an attempt to offer elements of an answer.
Movie, TV Series, or Documentary
Le Bureau des légendes on Canal+. This thrilling TV series, created by Eric Rochant, launched in France in 2015 and is now in its third season. Find out what the DGCE—the French secret service—is up to abroad, and follow stories of special agents with fabricated identities.
Ian BremmerPresident of Eurasia Group
Foreign Policy
Earning the Rockies: How Geography Shapes America’s Role in the World, by Robert D. Kaplan. Nobody does big lyrical sweeping geopolitics and history like Kaplan. This book is a pleasure—could almost be a beach read. Call it a lakeside read.
Fiction
American War, by Omar El Akkad. Depressing as hell, but the best dystopian novels give you characters you can believe in and a story that’s just plausible enough. El Akkad wins on both counts.
Home Country (United States)
The Complacent Class: The Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream, by Tyler Cowen. Cowen is a national treasure. He cares deeply about our country getting things right, and he has values that any decent person would embrace. This book will help us get it right.
Movie, TV Series, or Documentary
Movie: Sing. Yes, I’m a dork that way.
TV series: Black Mirror. Hopefully not where we’re heading. But just in case . . .
Documentary: The Putin Interviews, by Oliver Stone. Because the Russian president just gets away with anything.
Chrystia FreelandMinister of foreign affairs of Canada
Foreign Policy
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, by Timothy Snyder.
Fiction
The Diviners, by Margaret Laurence.
Home Country (Canada)
The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood.
Movie, TV Series, or Documentary
Kim’s Convenience, a Canadian TV sitcom.
Paul HaenleDirector of the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy
Foreign Policy
By More Than Providence: Grand Strategy and American Power in the Asia Pacific Since 1783, by Michael Green. In his newest book, Georgetown professor Michael Green explores the history and evolution of U.S. grand strategy in Asia. He challenges the conventional wisdom that America’s focus on the region arose only in the past few decades. Instead, he explores the reasons behind the fluctuations in U.S. policy across the region and demonstrates why American commercial and strategic stakeholders have long had a vested interest in free navigation and open markets in Asia.
Fiction
The Three-Body Problem, by Liu Cixin. Published in 2006 as the first of a trilogy, The Three-Body Problem is one of only a few Chinese science-fiction novels to be translated into English. Set in China during the Cultural Revolution, it is an opportunity for those interested in exploring the growing genre of Chinese science fiction from one of China’s top fiction authors.
Home Country (United States)
The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: America and China, 1776 to the Present, by John Pomfret. For those interested in a nontraditional overview of U.S.-China relations, Pomfret’s latest book goes back to the very beginning of the relationship, just as the United States became a nation. The book explores the cultural, economic, and strategic paths that led the two countries to where they are today and is a refreshing read for those looking for a broader perspective on the history of U.S.-China bilateral relations.
Movie, TV Series, or Documentary
The Americans, Season 5. Russian spies infiltrating America—a thing of the past, right? This TV series, set in the Cold War under the Reagan administration, explores the lives of two KGB spies posing as Americans in Washington, DC. Beyond exciting spy exploits and intrigue, the series examines the complexities of raising a family and upholding the facade of an arranged marriage while living across the street from an FBI agent tasked with unearthing spies in the United States.
Marc PieriniVisiting scholar at Carnegie Europe
Foreign Policy
“Ur-Fascism” by Umberto Eco, in the June 22, 1995, issue of the New York Review of Books. In Italian, there is a longer version: “Cinque scritti morali”; and in French, a short version: “Reconnaître le facisme.”
Fiction
The Weight of the Butterfly by Erri de Luca is a minute and fascinating description of the relationships between man and wildlife, and between man, wildlife, and the environment.
Home Country (France)
Simone, éternelle rebelle, by Sarah Briand. An homage to the recently deceased Simone Veil, a French politician and academic, an Auschwitz survivor, and a dedicated European. It is one of several books, including Veil’s own, that shed light on an exceptional figure who was emblematic of European contemporary history.
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