Mark Leonard, Yuen Yuen Ang, and more for PS Read More

The Age of the Strongman, by Gideon Rachman; The Ukrainians, by Andrew Wilson; and more The PS Say More Newsletter | [View this message in a web browser]( [PS Read More]( Welcome to PS Read More, a bi-weekly feature dedicated to enriching your bookshelf, with Project Syndicate contributors' help. In this week's edition, we share recommendations from Mark Leonard, Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations. We also highlight a recent work by Yuen Yuen Ang, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and bring suggestions from Melvin Sanicas, a physician and scientist who works as a medical director at Takeda, and Carlo Ratti, Director of the Senseable City Lab at MIT and Co-Founder of Carlo Ratti Associati. Mark Leonard Recommends... [The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation]( By Andrew Wilson Despite being published in 2015, the book goes a long way toward explaining the roots of the current crisis. Written by my colleague Andrew Wilson, it tells the little-known but fascinating story of the unlikely creation of a Ukrainian state and identity. Wilson’s account of the process of forging a Cossack identity out of the disparate cultural influences that have shaped Ukraine – a nation at the crossroads of civilizations – is particularly interesting. [The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World]( By Kehinde Andrews This polemical book offers a bracing critique of the West’s belief that its global leadership is founded in the scientific, industrial, and political revolutions of the European Enlightenment. Though many of Andrews’ claims are rather sweeping, and the analysis lacks subtlety, it is worth reminding Western readers of the extent to which their historic wealth and institutions were built on foundations of colonialism, slavery, and even genocide. At a time when Western powers are united in their outrage at the war in Ukraine, this book provides a salutary reminder of how their claims to moral leadership are viewed in much of the rest of the world. [The Age of the Strongman: How the Cult of the Leader Threatens Democracy around the World]( By Gideon Rachman Rachman’s timely and eye-opening book casts a new light on a phenomenon that has reshaped our politics and geopolitics. From Viktor Orbán, Donald Trump, and Vladimir Putin to Xi Jinping, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Narendra Modi, this book uses reportage, history, and astute analysis to tell the gripping and chilling story of how the world went from the dream of universal liberal democracy to being in thrall to strongmen. Don't miss Leonard's [Say More interview]( published last week, in which he warned that the sanctions against Russia could hasten the demise of the Western-led international order, considered how the Ukraine war might reshape the Indo-Pacific, and more. [Read more](. By a PS Contributor [China's Gilded Age: The Paradox of Economic Boom and Vast Corruption]( By [Yuen Yuen Ang]( Ang says: "How has China's economy grown so fast for so long despite vast corruption? This common question presumes that corrupt countries are necessarily poor, and that China is an outlier. My book debunks both of these myths. Instead of conceptualizing corruption as a homogeneous problem, I unbundle corruption into four qualitatively different varieties. I then show how, over the past four decades, corruption in China has evolved away from thuggery and theft toward 'access money' – elite exchanges of power and wealth. Access money spurred pro-growth politicians and politically-connected capitalists to invest feverishly, but it also bred the systemic risks and inequality to which President Xi Jinping's 'common prosperity' campaign is a response. Contemporary China is a newcomer on an evolutionary path earlier taken by Western societies during their Gilded Ages." Read Ang's [Say More interview]( published last year, in which she shared insights from China's Gilded Age, showed how the US could become a more formidable competitor to China, warned against false dichotomies in US-China relations, and more. [Read more](. More Contributor Recommendations From Melvin Sanicas: [The Irrational Ape: Why Flawed Logic Puts Us All at Risk and How Critical Thinking Can Save the World]( By David Robert Grimes This book helps readers to understand the world we live in – including the rise of populism and anti-intellectualism and the decline of logical thinking – and underscores why scientists need to get better at communicating. Everyone should read this book before they are allowed to use social media. [Read more](. --------------------------------------------------------------- From Carlo Ratti: [The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects]( By Lewis Mumford At a time when the future of cities is clouded by doom and gloom, reacquainting ourselves with this classic survey of the past 10,000 years of urban history, with all its ups and down, is sorely needed. Sometimes a long view can help us see past short-term challenges. [Read more](. [Project Syndicate 2022 Reader Survey]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( Project Syndicate publishes and provides, on a not-for-profit basis, original commentary by the world's leading thinkers to more than 500 media outlets in over 150 countries. This newsletter is a service of [Project Syndicate](. [Change your newsletter preferences](. Follow us on [Facebook]( [Twitter]( and [YouTube](. © Project Syndicate, all rights reserved. [Unsubscribe from all newsletters](.