“[A] cogent, revealing account of how a generation of American officials have grappled with dangerous developments in the post-Cold War era—the rise of an enduringly authoritarian China, the return of state-on-state conflict in Europe—that have produced a geopolitical mash-up of old and new . . . compelling . . . vividly captures Washington.”—The New York Times

“This is the best book so far to define a new era of great power struggles between the United States, China and Russia.”—NPR

“Sanger vividly conveys the immediacy of decision-making, showing how short-term preoccupations shape the long term.”—Foreign Affairs

“This is a highly entertaining book to read, despite its immense cautionary themes. Sanger gets both the broad theory and the human details right and along the way provides a powerful book of geopolitics appearing at a hinge moment in global history.”—The Cipher Brief

“[A] stellar history of Biden’s foreign policy.”—Airmail

“Sanger is an acute analyst and, above all, an engaged and thoughtful listener. The book is full of insights and anecdotes from the ‘center of the action’ of political decision-making and clearly shows Sanger’s familiarity with the ins and outs of US domestic and foreign policy.” —H-Diplo, The Robert Jervis International Security Studies Forum


“We have just been hurtled into a new and far more dangerous world, and David E. Sanger has been present at its creation. Sanger’s brilliant book is a masterpiece of reporting, revelations, and analysis. It takes us into hidden rooms and lets us eavesdrop on secret conversations that address up-to-the-minute struggles over Russia, China, Ukraine, the Middle East, and other flashpoints, as well as crucial technological innovations. Sanger’s mesmerizing inside story of a world transformed will inspire and disturb, but as the author makes abundantly clear, no one who lives on this planet can ignore what is happening.”—Michael Beschloss, New York Times bestselling author of Presidents of War