Short Synopsis
From bestselling author Robert D. Kaplan comes an examination of the Indian Ocean region—an area that will become crucial to global politics as the twenty-first century continues.

Full Synopsis
On the world maps common in America, the Western Hemisphere lies front and center, while the Indian Ocean region all but disappears. This convention reveals the geopolitical focus of the now-departed twentieth century, but in the twenty-first century that focus will fundamentally change.

In this pivotal examination of the countries known as "Monsoon Asia"—which include India, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, Burma, Oman, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Tanzania—bestselling author Robert D. Kaplan shows how crucial this dynamic area has become to American power. It is here that the fight for democracy, energy independence, and religious freedom will be lost or won, and it is here that American foreign policy must concentrate if the United States is to remain relevant in an ever-changing world. From the Horn of Africa to the Indonesian archipelago and beyond, Kaplan exposes the effects of population growth, climate change, and extremist politics on this unstable region, demonstrating why Americans can no longer afford to ignore this important area of the world.

"The book's political and economic focus and forecasts are smart and brim with aperçus on the intersection of power, politics, and resource consumption (especially water), and give full weight to the impact of colonialism." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"A sweeping narrative [that] deftly weaves history, reportage, and grand strategy . . . into a coherent portrait of an undercovered region whose importance will only grow in the decades to come." ---Foreign Policy

"A special blend of first-person travel writing, brief historical sketches and wide-ranging strategic analysis." ---The New York Times Book Review

"An intellectual treat: Beautiful writing is not incompatible with geopolitical imagination and historical flair!" ---Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security advisor

Publishers Weekly Review