Book Reviews

In transitioning away from communism to independence since 1991, Ukraine struggled more than its neighbors, including Poland or Hungary. For more than two decades, Ukraine wavered between loyalty to Russia and stronger ties with the European Union.  Discontent and protests, Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and intervention in the country’s east have exacerbated struggles with inequality, high debt and corruption. Anders Åslund, an economist with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, served as an economic advisor to Ukraine’s President Leonid Kuchma from 1994 to 1997. He urges immediate reforms and austerity measures. In her review, Julia Sinitsky praises Åslund’s analysis, but questions the wisdom of austerity during a sensitive period. She also expresses doubt on his optimistic outlook but expresses hope that the book may inspire agents of change for Ukraine.

The pace of globalization does not let up, and historians struggle to keep up. Bruce Mazlish’s Globalization and Transformation is a heady survey of the great thinkers who embraced a global context. Mazlish, professor emeritus of history at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, assures readers that they may wield some control over globalization, and even when that’s not the case, they have “a moral duty to behave as if we can shape our present and future.” In her review, Susan Froetschel comments on the book’s quick pace for such an immense topic, and agrees that society can no longer afford to neglect global connections and consequences. Mazlish concludes that all history is global history, and the review suggests that histories should be regularly reassessed, keeping multicultural and global contexts in mind.

From 1990 to 2008, Howard French reported for The New York Times as bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China in Shanghai. French builds on those experiences to describe how Chinese migrants contribute to Africa’s development in his book China’s Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa. The influence can run both ways, notes veteran journalist and editor of YaleGlobal Online Nayan Chanda in his review, which was first published by Global Asia: “A common theme that emerges from French’s inter­views with these Chinese migrants is that most lacked opportunity at home and resented omni­present corruption, pollution and lack of freedom….”  

Exploring extreme and dangerous environments – the ocean depths, space, caves or disaster zones – requires courage, resilience, focus, self-discipline in addition to meticulous planning. Extreme: Why Some People Thrive at the Limits by Emma Barrett and Paul Martin examines the characteristics required to embrace and manage the risks. The authors argue that such skills and attitudes can be developed, taught and practiced. In her review, Susan Froetschel suggests that the skill set will come in handy as the globe experiences more extreme weather patterns, a result of climate change, and she concludes, “The world has a need for people willing to step into harm’s way, and how they manage risks should be understood and appreciated.”