The Great Convergence: Asia, the West, and the Logic of One World Audiobook

Quotes

• “Kishore Mahbubani has done it again. He has written a book that is provocative, engaging, and always intelligent. He brings a crucial perspective to bear on global affairs, rooted in the rise of Asia but with an understanding of Europe and America as well. Rudyard Kipling said, ‘East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet.’ But they do in this book.”

  — Fareed Zakaria, New York Times bestselling author

• “We all know how dismal the state of the world can often seem. We can be grateful, then, for Kishore Mahbubani’s The Great Convergence, a sweeping survey that proves to be, in large measure, a counterweight to global gloom and doom. Mr. Mahbubani is a big-picture writer and thinker, a Thomas Friedman with a strong Asian perspective…[He] has good questions for Americans.”

  — Wall Street Journal

• “[Mahbubani] is an eloquent cheerleader for the dynamism and optimism that has driven Asia’s resurgence…The thesis is a welcome counterweight to the more familiar gloom of political scientists. The book is rich in insight into the hurdles and pitfalls that stand in the way of international cooperation…The central argument is compelling…What is clear, though, is that west and east have still to grasp the paradox deftly illuminated by Mahbubani’s call for global governance. To retain real sovereignty over their national affairs, leaders will have to share it internationally.”

  — Financial Times

• “[An] eloquent and searching portrait of today’s transforming global order.”

  — Foreign Affairs

• “In exploring the tensions that arise as our global community draws ever closer together, Kishore Mahbubani provides a compelling reminder that humanity is strongest when we work together for the benefit of all.”

  — Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General

• “Thought provoking, sharp, and full of wisdom as usual, this new book by Kishore Mahbubani not only offers in-depth analysis of world challenges today but also offers fresh ideas on how to improve global order for the twenty-first century. A must read for those who are interested in power politics and the future of global governance.”

  — Pascal Lamy, director-general, World Trade Organization

• “Few today know Asia as well as Kishore Mahbubani, and even fewer combine it with a deep understanding of the West’s strengths and frailties. In The Great Convergence, Mahbubani offers a balanced but profoundly disturbing analysis of the political challenges that face our modern, increasingly interdependent world. His proposals on how to fix the outdated system of global governance are both refreshingly novel and eminently practical. A truly stimulating read!”

  — Raghuram Rajan, professor, University of Chicago Booth School

• “While I remain pessimistic for the global economy in the near-term, I share Kishore Mahbubani’s long-term optimism for our world, including the emerging powers like China and India. The world order must now reinvent itself to accommodate these powers. Mahbubani’s timely and brilliant book explains well both the challenges to our global order and the wise solutions that are at hand. We can create a better world. Mahbubani’s book explains how. I strongly commend it.”

  — Nouriel Roubini, professor of economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business and cofounder and chairman of Roubini Global Economics

• “Most of the great errors in foreign policy and diplomacy come from a failure to understand the perspective of other nations. And this is a besetting problem for superpowers like the United States. That is why whether they like it or not, whether they agree or disagree, it so important that Western and especially American policymakers read this important book presenting a perspective on the global trends that is very different from their own.”

  — Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor of Harvard University, Harvard Kennedy School

• “Kishore Mahbubani is a thoughtful critic of the West and this book is full of provocations; some right, some wrong, but never boring. Above all, he seeks ways to reconcile the 12 percent of the world’s population who live in the West with the vast majority who do not. The result is a good and important read.”

  — Joseph S. Nye, Distinguished Service Professor, Harvard University, and author of The Future of Power

• “A manifesto for multilateralism, one-worldism, [and] social justice…Mahbubani offers practical steps, including a recomposition of the UN Security Council to encourage one-worldism.”

  — Kirkus Reviews