Book
Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present
Why people recommend it
Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present by Fareed Zakaria is an expansive historical exploration of how massive technological, economic, and social advancements consistently trigger intense political resistance. Stephen Dubner featured Zakaria and his book across several 2024 episodes of Freakonomics Radio to analyze whether contemporary society is currently living through the most revolutionary period in recent history. Dubner observed that reading the text evoked a profound sense of sadness and surprise regarding the fragile state of the global order. Throughout the discussions, Zakaria noted how his prognostications about historical backlashes were strikingly borne out by recent geopolitical events, emphasizing that modern revolutionary eras extend far beyond traditional statecraft into cultural and technological domains. The host highlighted the book's subtitle to frame conversations around the cyclical nature of human progress and historical complexity, where positive advancements often inadvertently empower bad actors or populist revolts. By examining the patterns spanning from the seventeenth century onward, Zakaria provided listeners with a sweeping framework for understanding why the modern world feels so politically fractured and perilous today.
Who recommended it
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 8
“We had him on the show earlier this year to talk about his book, The Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present.”
“What I've been struck by is the degree to which the kind of things that I talked about in my book, Age of Revolutions, have been borne out.”
“Do you see that as further proof that we're living through, as you put it in the book of yours, the most revolutionary period in recent history?”
“His show is called GPS, and his most recent book is The Age of Revolutions.”
“So my sense of reading you, overall particularly reading your new book, 'Age of Revolutions,' is a sense of sadness and surprise that the world finds itself today in a state of peril.”
“This one, 'Age of Revolutions,' is subtitled 'Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present.'”
“When Fareed Zakaria writes in his new book 'Age of Revolutions' that we are living through an intensely revolutionary era, he isn't only talking about geopolitics.”
“History is complicated; sometimes the bad guys win. Fareed Zakaria on his new book, 'Age of Revolutions.'”