Customer Reviews: Read 35 more reviews...
 The Big Picture November 4, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
As a German, I was very pleasantly surprised how well Brzezinski captured the aims and dynamics of European politics. I learned a great deal of conceptional knowledge and this knowledge has made it possible to see much more clearly the significance of events in Europe. It is not without pain that one must realize that cold-hearted, impersonal geostrategic power considerations affect the lives of real people in direct ways. I can recommend this book to anybody with an interest in general education.
Very informative July 25, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Although somewhat dry, this is a great book that delineates the world's hotspots and America's role in it. It does a good job summarizing the modern history of these regions and the relationships which the US must engage in order to maintain it's global leadership.
 THE ANTI-US CONSTITUTION June 13, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Zbigniew Brzezinski's "The Grand Chessboard" is a geopolitical strategy for U S perpetual imperialism. Although he served as Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor, Zbig knows nothing of a U S Constitution. He favors imperialism and all its vulgar mafia-driven tenets; racism, mass murder, and plunder. As explained in Don't Weep for Me, America: How Democracy in America Became the Prince (While We Slept) Zbig contributed to the Neo-Con movement to re-map the Middle East by writing in "The Grand Chessboard" in 1997, "...as America becomes an increasingly multicultural society, it may find it more difficult to fashion a consensus on foreign policy issues, EXCEPT IN THE CIRCUMSANCES, OF A TRULY MASSIVE AND WIDELY PERCEIVED DIRECT EXTERNAL THREAT". His signal was picked up by the Neo-cons and on September 11, 2001, New York was the chosen target of A TRULY MASSIVE AND WIDELY PERCEIVED DIRECT EXTERNAL THREAT. Funny how these things happen...
Advisor to Barack Obama May 30, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
As recently reported, the author of this book Brzezinski has wholeheartedly endorsed Barack Obama for President for 2008, and was one of the first well known foreign policy experts to do so. Brezezinski has been chosen by Obama as his key foreign policy advisor. Barack Obama has also been very forthright in his praise of Brzezinski as "someone I have learned an immense amount from", and "one of our most outstanding scholars and thinkers".
Brezeinski's daughter is a regular TV host on various MSNBC news talk shows.
American Hegemony 101 October 22, 2007
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
Basically, this book is the work of a mastermind geostrategist that outlines his view of America's global role, and what we need to do to maintain our global preeminence. The book is dated-it was published in 1997-but in a way this makes it interesting as we can see how some of Brzezinski's predictions have come to fruition.
First things first, Brzezinski is not some kind of devious Dr. Evil, and he has been highly critical of American actions under the current administration, so to say that he is some sort of pre-cursor to the Bush doctrine is unfair and inaccurate. Obviously, any book that refers to the potential fate of whole countries as a grand game of chess is certain to ruffle feathers, but this is basically what international relations experts do. This is a practical, unsentimental, and insightful argument for American global primacy and how we should use our power and influence for good. This is not to say that I agree with this worldview, I don't, but there's no need to get hysterical about it.
Brzezinski mostly concentrates on Eurasia, which according to him is the central battleground for competing global powers. Not only does it have plentiful natural resources, but its geographic location-the meeting point between Europe and Asia-essentially make it the center of the advanced world. Brzezinski fluently describes the potential problem spots in this area as well as potential rivals, allies and global aspirants. France, Germany, Russia, China, and to a lesser extent Turkey and Iran are all important world players in this chess game and for what it's worth, Brzezinski favors friendly relations with all of these countries. Unlike our current leaders, he opposes the demonization of any country and insists that all the aforementioned powers can be brought into a mutually beneficial relationship.
To be fair, Brzezinski argues that a sudden end to American supremacy would likely be disastrous to the region, causing massive instability and anarchy. He also claims that if we abandon our imperial role, this will only leave the door open for another, perhaps less benevolent power to take our place. He also claims that America's hegemony is best understood as a temporary substitute for a more equal global partnership. Of course this is all debatable, and it is fair to argue that imperialism is the cause of this region's problems, but Brzezinski sees the world as it is, not as it should be.
So whether you see Brzezinski as a benevolent visionary, or a maniacal plotter of world domination, this book is an excellent glimpse into the mind of a brilliant globalist and international strategist. Highly recommended to anyone with the slightest interest in international affairs.
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