First published 2024
Political upheaval crashes across the twenty-first century like a massive wave, destroying old institutions and assumptions. Pulitzer Prize winner Michiko Kakutani examines how this transformation creates space for outsiders to seize power and influence. She analyzes figures who have capitalized on this disruption, contrasting chaos-bringers like Donald Trump with inspirational leaders like Volodymyr Zelensky. Kakutani argues that protesters, populists, and hackers now operate from positions of unexpected strength as traditional elites lose credibility. Drawing on her background as a cultural critic, she traces similar moments of historical upheaval, from the end of the Middle Ages through post-World War II reconstruction. The book explores how new power dynamics emerge when established order collapses. Kakutani contends that periods of turmoil always contain seeds of renewal, offering readers a choice between surrendering to chaos or harnessing disruptive forces to build something better.
Genres: history, political-science, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: chaos-bringers, inspirational-leaders, traditional-elites
Period: 21st-Century, Middle Ages, Post-World War II
293 pages · Kindle Edition · William Collins