{"product_id":"2940169238433","title":"The Return of Marco Polo's World: War, Strategy, and American Interests in the Twenty-first Century","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA bracing assessment of U.S. foreign policy and world disorder over the past two decades, anchored by a major new Pentagon-commissioned essay about changing power dynamics among China, Eurasia, and Americaamp;mdash;from the renowned geopolitical analyst and bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Revenge of Geography\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Coming Anarchy.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the late thirteenth century, Marco Polo began a decades-long trek from Venice to China. The strength of that Silk Roadamp;mdash;the trade route between Europe and Asiaamp;mdash;was a foundation of Kublai Khan's sprawling empire. Now, in the early twenty-first century, the Chinese regime has proposed a land-and-maritime Silk Road that duplicates exactly the route Marco Polo traveled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the major lead essay, recently released by the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment, Robert D. Kaplan lays out a blueprint of the world's changing power politics that recalls the late thirteenth century. As Europe fractures from changes in culture and migration, Eurasia coheres into a single conflict system. China is constructing a land bridge to Europe. Iran and India are trying to link the oil fields of Central Asia to the Indian Ocean. America's ability to influence the power balance in Eurasia is declining.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is Kaplan's first collection of essays since his classic \u003ci\u003eThe Coming Anarchy\u003c\/i\u003e was published in 2000. Drawing on decades of firsthand experience as a foreign correspondent and military embed for \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic,\u003c\/i\u003e as well as encounters with preeminent realist thinkers, Kaplan outlines the timeless principles that should shape America's role in a turbulent world: a respect for the limits of Western-style democracy; a delineation between American interests and American values; an awareness of the psychological toll of warfare; a projection of power via a strong navy; and more.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Kaplan's immediate thoughts on President Trump (\"On Foreign Policy, Donald Trump Is No Realist,\" 2016) to a frank examination of what will happen in the event of war with North Korea (\"When North Korea Falls,\" 2006), \u003ci\u003eThe Return of Marco Polo's World\u003c\/i\u003e is a vigorous and honest reckoning with the difficult choices the United States will face in the years ahead.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47101807034608,"sku":"2940169238433","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940169238433_p0.jpg?v=1763769735","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940169238433","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}