El Retorno de La Historia y El Fin de Los Suenos (the Return of History and the End of Dreams)

Scholar and Washington Post columnist Kagan delivers a brief but stirring treatise on post-Cold War politics, warning that the world's nations have again plunged into the dangers of geopolitics. Writing with authority and clear-eyed passion, Kagan explains how the end of the Cold War failed to prime the international demand for democracy, as the democratic world had hoped, yielding instead emerging autocracies in Russia, China, and elsewhere, as well as the increasingly dangerous and virulent ideology of militant Islam. In dense but thoughtful prose, Kagan scrutinizes the patterns of history and predicts a grim political future. Kagan's well-considered message will resonate with history buffs and current-affairs junkies. Reviewed by PW 5/26/08