Children of Immigration by Carola and Marcelo Suarez-Orozco

This book is significantly different than the other books I have discussed on this blog so far. One of the themes that we discuss in the seminar is immigration and this book examines the experience of immigrant children and their impact on American society as well as society’s impact on them. Children of Immigration by Carola and Marcelo Suarez-Orozco http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/SUACHI.html  breaks new ground in presenting research on the diverse experience of immigrant children from multiple perspectives. This book examines the factors that seem to contribute to divergent pathways of adaptation, particularly in school, for immigrant children.  It also presents a re-thinking of the idea of acculturation. Both authors teach at New York University, where they serve as co-directors of Immigration Studies at NYU, and Marcelo Suarez-Orozco also serves as co-director of Institute for Globalization and Education. I have provided a link to their Institute in the links section of the blog. I serve as the executive director of a youth education program that serves middle and high school students, many of whom are immigrants, and I found this book to be particularly relavant to my work with my students as well as to my understanding of the impact of globalization.

The Second World by Parag Khanna

  Of all the books that I am considering for next fall’s seminar, one of the most fascinating and well researched is The Second World: Empires and Influence in The New Global Order by Parag Khanna (2008) www.paragkhanna.com

 Khanna, who is the director of the Global Governance Initiative in the American Strategy Program of the New America Foundation, presents a compelling new thesis where he sees the emergence of a new tri-polar world where the United States, China, and the EU compete for dominance and resources. This contest plays out in the “second world” which he describes as Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and East Africa. Khanna has traveled extensively in each of these regions and he is a keen observer and a gifted writer.  In this book he takes us on a remarkable tour of specific countries where he examines how globalization is changing the evolution of what used to be thought of as “the international community.” Khanna also explores the tension between geopolitics and globalization.

This is an important primer on the changing geo-political landscape and he ends the book with a provocative and timely challenge for the US, China, and the EU. Robert D. Kaplan, one of my favorite global observers/travel writers, describes The Second World as  “A savvy, streetwise primer on dozens of individual countries that adds up to a coherent theory of global politics.”

New Book – The Inheritance by David Sanger

Today I want to discuss another new book I am considering for this fall, but first I want to mention that today I was invited to an event on April 28th where Thomas Friedman will be the keynote speaker. After reading all of his books, I am really looking forward to seeing him in person… Now for the new book -  it is by the Pulitzer Prize winning Washington correspondent from the New York Times David Sanger. The book is The Inheritance: the World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power (2009)  www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl/9780307407924.html

This new book just came out in January and it examines US foreign policy over the past 8 years and the impact that it will have on the challenges and opportunities that Obama now must face. In this fascinating and well researched book Sanger presents new insights on Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea, and China. What I love most about this book is that Sanger conducted personal interviews with many key foreign policy leaders and these interviews shape his narrative in the style of Bob Woodward (one of my favorite authors.) This book would replace Zbigniew Brzezinski’s book Second Chance in the Globalization and Foreign Policy section of our course.