Political Order and Political Decay: from the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy

Publisher Marketing: Writing in "The Wall Street Journal," David Gress called Francis Fukuyama s "Origins of Political Order" magisterial in its learning and admirably immodest in its ambition. In "The New York Times Book Review," Michael Lind described the book as a major achievement by one of the leading public intellectuals of our time. And in "The Washington Post," Gerard DeGrott exclaimed this is a book that will be remembered. Bring on volume two. Volume two is finally here, completing the most important work of political thought in at least a generation. Taking up the essential question of how societies develop strong, impersonal, and accountable political institutions, Fukuyama follows the story from the French Revolution to the so-called Arab Spring and the deep dysfunctions of contemporary American politics. He examines the effects of corruption on governance, and why some societies have been successful at rooting it out. He explores the different legacies of colonialism in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, and offers a clear-eyed account of why some regions have thrived and developed more quickly than others. And he boldly reckons with the future of democracy in the face of a rising global middle class and entrenched political paralysis in the West. A sweeping, masterful account of the struggle to create a well-functioning modern state, "Political Order and Political Decay" is destined to be a classic." Review Citations: Library Journal Prepub Alert 04/15/2014 pg. 58 (EAN 9780374227357, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 08/18/2014 (EAN 9780374227357, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2014 (EAN 9780374227357, Hardcover) - *Starred Review New York Times Book Review 09/14/2014 pg. 1 (EAN 9780374227357, Hardcover) New York Times Book Review 09/21/2014 pg. 22 (EAN 9780374227357, Hardcover) Library Journal 10/01/2014 pg. 100 (EAN 9780374227357, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Booklist 10/01/2014 pg. 12 (EAN 9780374227357, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Kirkus Best Nonfiction 12/01/2014 pg. 18 (EAN 9780374227357, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Fukuyama, Francis Francis Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) and a resident in FSI's Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. He is the author of The End of History and the Last Man; The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution; America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy; and Falling Behind: Explaining the Development Gap between Latin America and the United States. Contributor Bio:  Gigante, Phil Phil Gigante is an APA Audie Award winner (The Dark Highlander, The Stainless Steel Rat, and The Watch That Ends the Night), and winner of over a dozen Audiofile Magazine Earphones Awards. He has narrated and directed more than 250 books, and was twice named a "Best Voice in Mystery and Suspense" by Audiofile Magazine. He has been named a Best Male Narrator in the categories of Romance, Science Fiction, Militaria, and Mystery/Suspense, as well as "Favorite Dual Narrator" (with Natalie Ross). Phil also works in film, TV and radio, and is the Producer/Director of Gigantic Productions theatre company. He makes his home in the Midwest. Contributor Bio:  Bond, Jim Bond is a producer and host of radio talk shows, with an extensive background in theatre and the musical stage. Contributor Bio:  Davis, Jonathan Anthony Bolton left Cambridge University with a degree in engineering to start a career in the City. In 1979, aged 29, he was recruited by Fidelity, the American fund management group, as one of its first London-based investment managers, a move that proved to be the launch of a long and successful career as an investment manager. In surveys of professional investors, he is regularly voted the fund manager most respected by his peers. He will be retiring from full-time investment management at the end of 2007, while continuing to work part-time at Fidelity and spending more time on his charitable interests and his hobby, composing classical music. Anthony Bolton is married with three children and lives in Sussex. Jonathan Davis has been analysing and writing about financial markets for 25 years. His early career was spent as a business journalist on national newspapers, including The Sunday Telegraph, The Times and The Economist. He later set up his own specialist writing, consultancy and publishing business and has been writing a popular column about investment in The Independent since 1995 and is also a regular contributor to the Financial Times and Spectator . He is the author of three books, two on investment and one on the game of bridge, and the founder and chairman of Independent Investor LLP, which specialises in publishing high quality material on money and investment, including books, reports and a specialist newsletter. www.independent-investor.com.