Person
Fareed Zakaria's books and book recommendations
Across 6 podcasts. Every show Fareed Zakaria appears on, in one place — not just one.
Fareed Zakaria is an Indian-born American journalist, political commentator, and author. He is the host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS and writes a weekly column for The Washington Post. He has been a columnist for Newsweek, editor of Newsweek International, and an editor at large of Time. Zakaria has recommended a range of political, historical, and economic texts across his podcast appearances. He cited Peter Zeihan's The Accidental Superpower to support points about America's natural geographic advantages and recommended John Ikenberry's A World Safe for Democracy for encapsulating the rules-based international order. He highlighted Reinhold Niebuhr's The Irony of American History to address the dangers of powerful nations believing they are entirely virtuous, and he recommended Graham Greene's novel The Quiet American as a fictional look at idealism in Vietnam. Zakaria also pointed to Kenneth N. Waltz's Man, the State, and War and Theory of International Politics as essential readings on international relations. Furthermore, he discussed Walter Lippmann's A Preface to Morals in the context of modern dilemmas and recommended Ronald Steel's biography Walter Lippmann and the American Century as a great intellectual history of America.
Books by Fareed Zakaria
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The Future of Freedom
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The Postamerican World
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Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World
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Age of Revolutions
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The Post-American World
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The American encounter
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From wealth to power
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In defense of a liberal education
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End of the Liberal Order?
Books recommended by Fareed Zakaria
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A preface to morals
A Preface to Morals by Walter Lippmann is a classic philosophical work written during the Jazz Age of the 1920s that examines the spiritual and psychological crisis of modern secular society.
Recommended“that book a preface to morals. Preface tomorrow is a amazing book written in the 20s during the jazz age and it's about what do you the central dilemma he said in the modern world is that we have lost the certainty of faith of tradition of community”
Where to get it
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The wise men: Six friends and the world they made
The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made by Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas is a biographical history detailing the architects of post-World War II American foreign policy.
Recommended“the third would be again thinking about this world America built if you want to kind of a wonderful biographical lens into it uh Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas wrote a book called the wise men and it was a it was a story of six people who were instrumental in building the post World War II American order”
Where to get it
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The Protestant ethic and the "spirit" of capitalism and other writings
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a foundational sociological work by Max Weber that explores the historical relationship between Protestant religious values and the rise of capitalist economies.
Discussed“this was Max V's famous argument in in his book The Spirit of capitalism and protestantism”
Where to get it
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A World Safe for Democracy
A World Safe for Democracy by G.
Recommended“The best scholar who's written on this is a guy named John Ikenberry at Princeton. And I think the book is called A World Safe for Democracy. And encapsulates what is this thing, the rules-based international order, the liberal international order that the US created.”
Where to get it
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Diplomacy
Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger is an extensive historical analysis of international relations, foreign policy strategy, and the balance of power from the seventeenth century through the modern era.
Recommended“the second would be if you want to get a feel for 19th 18th century diplomacy and you know it's ups and downs uh Henry Kissinger wrote a wonderful kind of History called diplomacy and it begins in the 17th century and it goes all the way to you know the 1970s 80s as I recall”
Where to get it
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Dominion
Dominion by Tom Holland is a sweeping historical work examining how Christianity shaped Western culture, secular values, and modern moral frameworks.
Recommended“Tom Holland has a very good book about this uh the he's a he's a wonderful historian in Britain uh call I think it's called Dominion where he points out yeah he he points out what a revolutionary idea this was”
Where to get it
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Imagined communities
Imagined communities by Benedict Anderson is a seminal political science text that examines the origins of nationalism and defines nations as socially constructed communities imagined by the people who perceive themselves as part of that group.
Recommended“and so the first one is Benedict Anderson's imagined communities which is still I think it was written in the early 80s but it's still this remarkable book that is able to explain why people are so nationalistic”
Where to get it
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Man, the State, and War
Man, the State, and War is a foundational political science text by Kenneth N.
Recommended“Kenneth Waltz wrote a book about international relations called Man the State and War. He wrote two books man the state and war and theory of international relations which I both read at least three times.”
Where to get it
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On Writing Well
William Zinsser's On Writing Well is a widely acclaimed classic guide to non-fiction writing that emphasizes clarity, simplicity, and the removal of clutter from prose.
Recommended“Some of them are useful like if you look at white and I actually prefer there's guy William Zim Zim called on writing which I think is is better.”
Where to get it
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The Accidental Superpower
The Accidental Superpower by Mr.
Recommended“There was a very very good book by Peter Zahhan called the accidental superpower which makes this point very powerfully.”
Where to get it
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The idea of India
The Idea of India by Sunil Khilnani is a historical examination that explores the foundations and evolution of India as a modern, decolonized nation-state.
Recommended“and for India there are so many but there's a wonderful short book called the idea of India by Sunil kelnani a young academic and probably not so young anymore but it's wonderfully written”
Where to get it
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The Irony of American History
The Irony of American History by Reinhold Niebuhr is a classic theological and political critique examining the moral perils of national power and righteousness.
Recommended“The second is a book by Reinhold Niebuhr called The Irony of American History. And it's really all about the great danger when you are powerful of believing you are virtuous and believing that you know, might is right.”
Where to get it
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The Jungle Grows Back
The Jungle Grows Back by Robert Kagan is a concise political book that examines the fragile nature of the liberal international order built by the United States and the dangers posed by its decay.
Recommended“so I was thinking about it and one of them think would be Robert kagan's book The Jungle grows back which is a which is a short book that tries to explain the nature of this world that America built and how its erosion and Decay will result in the jungle growing back the jungle of real politic War”
Where to get it
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The Lost City
The Lost City by Alan Ehrenhalt is a work of urban sociology and journalism in which the author returns to the Chicago neighborhoods of his youth to investigate why past communities felt so vibrant, cohesive, and deeply connected.
Recommended“There's a wonderful book called The Lost City by Alan Erin Halt, a journalist who went back to Chicago to wonder you wondering why the Chicago of his youth seemed so community oriented and why what what did they do that that was lost and he discovered that it was so community oriented because everyone was so poor they couldn't”
Where to get it
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The Quiet American
The Quiet American by Graham Greene is a brilliant political novel set in Vietnam that examines the tragic consequences of misguided Western idealism and foreign intervention through the eyes of a cynical, world-weary British journalist.
Recommended“And the final one in a similar vein is uh Graham Greene's book The Quiet American. Uh I think that one of the one of sometimes novels do it better than than anything else. It's a novel set in Vietnam through the eyes of a sour, dyspeptic, world-weary British journalist who sees this very idealistic American who believes that America”
Where to get it
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Theory of International Politics
Theory of International Politics is a seminal work by Kenneth Neal Waltz that establishes structural realism, commonly known as neorealism, as a dominant framework for analyzing global politics by emphasizing the anarchic structure of the international system.
Recommended“Kenneth Waltz wrote a book about international relations called Man the State and War. He wrote two books man the state and war and theory of international relations which I both read at least three times.”
Where to get it
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Walter Lippmann and the American Century
Walter Lippmann and the American Century is a comprehensive biography by Ronald Steel that examines the life, career, and intellectual evolution of one of America's most influential journalists and political commentators.
Recommended“there's a wonderful biography of his by a guy named Ronald Steel. It's called Walter Lipman and the American Century and it's a great intellectual history of America”
Where to get it
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Wealth and Power
Wealth and Power: China's Long March to the Twenty-First Century by Orville Schell and John Delury is a sweeping historical narrative that traces China's modern political evolution through the lives and ideas of key thinkers and leaders from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day.
Recommended“a book that I read about China that I felt really conveyed some of China's past and present very well was a book called wealth and power by Orville shell and John delivery both Great China Scholars Great China Watchers and it's really the story of China from 1850 to the present”
Where to get it
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1688
Discussed“even for this last book age of revolutions the to me the most interesting book that I was reading historically was a book by Steven Pinkis on the glorious revolution in England called 1688 which is the year of the glorious revolution I I read it twice it is a 700page as I recall dense academic book”
Where to get it
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A book of common prayer
Discussed“um you know so I went to an English uh to a to a protest high Protestant High Anglican School in India from you know for until 12th grade and we'd start every morning uh singing A Hymn reciting a book out of the book of common prayer”
Where to get it
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Enthusiasms
Discussed“He once wrote a a book called Enthusiasms and it was just a collection of all the things he's super enthusiastic about.”
Where to get it
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Henry Kissinger the Complete Memoirs e-Book Boxed Set
Discussed“Henry Ginger's Memoirs came out when I was 14 I think and I remember reading them cuz I remember my moms um at then at that point she was working at the Times of India”
Where to get it
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Make Me the Best Volleyball Player
Discussed“I was reading the New York Times um recently there was an article about Steve Bannon Donald Trump's Chief strategist who's having everybody read a book called the best and the brightest this is a book about how the smart Kennedy advisers uh got America into Vietnam and the the the moral of the book is meant to be or”
Where to get it
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Rise and Fall of the Great Power
Rise and Fall of the Great Power by Paul Kennedy is a prominent historical analysis examining the economic and strategic shifts among global empires over the centuries.
Discussed“Paul Kennedy had been my advisor at Yale and he had been writing the rise and fall of the great Powers his his great uh toome at the time”
Where to get it
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The Affluent Society
The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith is a mid-century economic critique examining how Western societies characterized by immense private wealth often neglect critical public infrastructure, services, and the common good.
Discussed“John Kenneth Golreth said in the affluence society which was published in the early 1960s I think he said the mark of the United States is private affluence and public squalor.”
Where to get it
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The Best and the Brightest
The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam is a historical examination of the origins of the Vietnam War and the elite policymakers who steered the United States into the conflict.
Discussed“I was reading the New York Times um recently there was an article about Steve Bannon Donald Trump's Chief strategist who's having everybody read a book called the best and the brightest this is a book about how the smart Kennedy advisers uh got America into Vietnam and the the the moral of the book is meant to be or”
Where to get it
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The Children
The Children by David Halberstam is a historical account that chronicles the young, ordinary college students who spearheaded the pivotal sit-in movement during the American civil rights struggle.
Discussed“I was reading the New York Times um recently there was an article about Steve Bannon Donald Trump's Chief strategist who's having everybody read a book called the best and the brightest This is a book about how the smart Kennedy advisers uh got America into Vietnam and the the the moral of the book is meant to be or”
Where to get it
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The Future of Freedom
The Future of Freedom by Fareed Zakaria explores the complexities of illiberal democracy and the shifting paradigms of political power across the globe.
Discussed“You know, in 2003, I wrote that book, The Future of Freedom, about illiberal democracy.”
Where to get it
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The Great Gatsby
F.
Discussed“I just did a a podcast about you know my favorite book and it was the Great Gatsby.”
Where to get it
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The Iliad
The Iliad by Homer is an ancient Greek epic poem that chronicles the wrath of Achilles and the brutal realities of the Trojan War.
Discussed“if you read the opening pages of The Iliad it is the story of the plague that Apollo Reigns down on Greek soldiers”
Where to get it
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The Rational Optimist
Matt Ridley's influential work "The Rational Optimist" explores the long-term history of human progress, arguing that prosperity fundamentally arises when ideas are shared and combined.
Discussed“There's this wonderful book by Matt Ridley about the you know why did human beings manage this extraordinary rise you know from being just just animals and the most important thing he points out is whenever we encountered diversity we we flourished you know just even scientifically”
Where to get it
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The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by Paul Kennedy is a prominent historical analysis examining the economic and strategic shifts among global empires over the centuries.
Discussed“Paul Kennedy had been my advisor at Yale and he had been writing the rise and fall of the great Powers his his great uh toome at the time”
Where to get it
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Train to Pakistan
Discussed“He was a novelist initially. Wrote what is still the best novel about the the partition of India. You know, India Pakistan called Train to Pakistan.”
Where to get it
Appearances
Other mentions (6: passing, ad reads, own books)
“which we then later learned through JD Vance's hillbilly but it's that it's that power of just going there and talking to people.”
“But I do think that there's a very important point it makes, and I try to make this in the book.”
“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”
“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.”
“You know, in 2003, I wrote that book, 'The Future of Freedom,' about liberal democracy; I basically made the case that the Arab world was fundamentally unready for liberal democracy because of oil wealth.”
“when you look at Iran strikes me very much like the French Revolution where the Sha tried to move much too far much too fast much too disruptively triggered an enormous backlash which they're still living with now”