5.0 out of 5 stars Great to study with a group

L.P. · June 3, 2025

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } Dr Zakaria has done an excellent job highlighting systemic impact over the years. Looking at diverse points of change and reflecting on how they contributed energy to patterns over time.We held a study with people from diverse ages and global locations which added its own flavor to thing like colonial change that contributed to the UK and US revolutions but also to the nature of local governments and structures working today

5.0 out of 5 stars More essential now than ever

E. · March 7, 2025

Sometimes it's easy to get lost in the weeds of the here-and-now, especially when it comes to politics. With his astute understanding of how the world works--and has worked--Fareed Zakaria grounds us by, ironically, taking us up to the 30,000-foot level so we can see where we are in the weeds and how we got here.My metaphor is inept at best, because if Zakaria's book could be distilled into an easy paragraph or two, it wouldn't be the probative analysis it is. At its heart, *Age of Revolutions* carefully explains how past events in the Netherlands, France, Great Britain and the US inform where we are today, and what we can learn from them given what he considers to be present-day revolutions in globalization, technology, identity, and politics.It sounds deep and heavy and boring, but Zakaria's ability to make the abstract concrete and the obscure relevant, this is a fascinating book. Although some might consider this a partisan, biased narrative, I assure you Zakaria presents the factual, historical background in a straightforward way; you'll see he arrives at his point of view authentically.You'll learn a lot from it. You'll learn things you never knew you MUST know. You'll probably even read it more than once. And you'll be recommending that your friends and relatives read this book, too. More than once.

4.0 out of 5 stars Half the sky has been dropped

C.S. · May 29, 2024

I happened to see Zakaria on the Stephen Colbert show promoting this book. At first I did not intend to read it because it is not the sort of book that I ordinarily read. However, he had stated something to the effect that the most important revolution was the worldwide revolution in the role of women. When I learned that the college senior thesis of a young female relative gave considerable attention to the current regression of women's rights, I suggested that she might want to read this book. Making that suggestion made me think that perhaps I should read it.I thought there would be a major section of the book devoted to women. After I bought an electronic copy, I was surprised to look at the table of contents and find there was no such section. So I began searching the final parts of the book because it was less clear what their contents were. I found a statement similar to what he had said on TV, along with the claim that this topic had been discussed earlier in the book.I have now read the entire book. There is no such discussion in the book, just a few scant mentions of anything to do with women. The title of my review comes from one of them, a mention that Mao made the rather progressive statement that women hold up half the sky. There is an interesting suggestion that work in the mills of the Industrial Revolution, despite the dismal reputation of such jobs, may actually have been rather liberating for women. There is a rather minimal discussion of the women's movement of the 1960s as a sort of adjunct to the civil rights movement of that period. I told my young relative that she need not waste her time reading this book.I am not sure if Zakaria is completely deluded in thinking he has discussed this topic in a meaningful way. Perhaps he is currently writing another book that will address this feminist revolution if he really thinks it is as important as he said.That said, the book is a worthwhile broad brush treatment of the history of the West (mostly) since about 1500. He emphasizes the economic thread in these historical changes. So, for example, he rather minimizes the significance of the American Revolution because he does not see it as having involved any great economic change. The closing sections of the book give a great deal of attention to China today.Zakaria speaks as an American, a citizen of the US. However I feel he also has a bit of an outsider's view of the US. In fact, I was rather surprised to discover that he is from India, says he grew up in India.I had thought he was probably from somewhere in the Middle East, given his somewhat exotic name and a speaking accent that is not one of the standard American ones.He has a somewhat more positive view of the role of the US in the world over the last 70 years than I do.

Helpful answers

A.C. · September 9, 2024

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } It has taken a long time to find a author that could deliver a understanding of what causes revolutions and explain and define the term. This book did it for me, it was hard to put it down and at times passages needed to be reread to understand the message. This is a eye opener to how and why revolts happen and how change that happens too quickly can be so disruptive.I highly recommend this book to those that want to understand both sides of a political or societal issue.

Recommend this work

V.P. · March 20, 2025

Just the right level of detail, not too much or too little. Compelling flow and narrative and well worth my time.

Easy reading

L.K.K. · May 2, 2024

clearly articulated.

Trite and unoriginal

P.S. · June 25, 2024

Before buying I read several reviews warning that the book contains nothing that is not already well-known to anyone who studied history at school. I disregarded these comments, dismissing them as intellectual snobbery. But these critics were right. The book is hugely disappointing. The treatment of the various revolutions is irritatingly superficial, and the writing style, while easy to read, is lazy and littered with cliches. If you are looking for a stimulating analysis, you won't find it here. I felt cheated. Save your money.

Fareed Zakaria- worth the read

P. · February 20, 2025

Great read