Anurgentexaminationofhowdisruptivepolitics,technology,andartarecapsizingoldassumptionsinagreatwaveofchangebreakingovertoday’sworld,creatingbothopportunityandperil--fromthePulitzerPrize-winningcriticandauthoroftheNewYorkTimesbestsellerTheDeathofTruth.“Inthisdazzlingandbrilliantbook,MichikoKakutaniexplainsthecascadingchaosofoureraandpointstowaysthatwecanregainsomestability.“--WalterIsaacson,authorofElonMuskThetwenty-firstcenturyisexperiencingawatershedmomentdefinedbychaosanduncertainty,asoneemergencycascadesintoanother,underscoringthelargerdynamicsofchangethatarefuelinginstabilityacrosstheworld.Sincetheglobalfinancialcrisisof2008,peoplehaveincreasinglylosttrustininstitutionsandelites,whileseizinguponnewdigitaltoolstosidesteptraditionalgatekeepers.Asaresult,powerfulnewvoices--onceregardedasradical,unorthodox,ormarginal--aredisruptingthestatusquoinpolitics,business,andculture.Meanwhile,socialandeconomicinequalitiesarestokingpopulistrageacrosstheworld,toxicpartisanshipisunderminingdemocraticideals,andtheinternetandAIhavebecomehigh-speedvectorsforthespreadofmisinformation.Writingwithacritic’sunderstandingofculturaltrendsandajournalist’seyeforhistoricaldetail,MichikoKakutanilooksattheconsequencesofthesenewasymmetriesofpower.Shemapsthemigrationofideasfromthemarginstothemainstreamandexploresthegrowinginfluenceofoutsiders--thosewhohavesownchaosandfear(likeDonaldTrump),andthosewhohaveprovidedinspirationalleadership(likeUkraine’spresidentVolodymyrZelensky).Atthesametime,shesituatestoday’smultiplyingcrisesincontextwiththosethatdefinedearlierhingemomentsinhistory,fromthewaningoftheMiddleAgestothetransitionbetweentheGildedAgeandtheProgressiveEraattheendofthenineteenthcentury.Kakutaniarguesthattoday’scrisesarenotonlysignsofaninterconnectedglobe’sprofoundvulnerabilities,butalsostresstestspointingtotheessentialchangesneededtosurvivethistumultuouseraandbuildamoresustainablefuture.
business WAVE technology GREAT
