The Empire and the Five Kings - by Bernard-Henri Lévy (Paperback)
$9.98 sale price when purchased online
$18.00 list price
Target Online store #3991
About this item
Highlights
- One of the West's leading intellectuals offers a provocative look at America's withdrawal from world leadership and the rising powers who seek to fill the vacuum left behind.
- About the Author: Bernard-Henri Lévy is a philosopher, activist, filmmaker, and author of more than thirty books including The Genius of Judaism, American Vertigo, Barbarism with a Human Face, and Who Killed Daniel Pearl?
- 272 Pages
- Political Science, Security (National & International)
Description
Book Synopsis
One of the West's leading intellectuals offers a provocative look at America's withdrawal from world leadership and the rising powers who seek to fill the vacuum left behind.
The United States was once the hope of the world, a beacon of freedom and the defender of liberal democracy. Nations and peoples on all continents looked to America to stand up for the values that created the Western worldand to oppose autocracy and repression. Even when America did not live up to its ideals, it still recognized their importance, at home and abroad. But as Bernard-Henri Lévy lays bare in this powerful and disturbing analysis of the world today, America is retreating from its traditional leadership role, and in its place have come five ambitious powers, former empires eager to assert their primacy and influence. Lévy shows how these five--Russia, China, Turkey, Iran, and Sunni radical Islamism--are taking steps to undermine the liberal values that have been a hallmark of Western civilization. The Empire and the Five Kings is a cri de coeur that draws upon lessons from history and the eternal touchstones of human culture to reveal the stakes facing the West as America retreats from its leadership role, a process that did not begin with Donald Trump's presidency and is not likely to end with him. The crisis is one whose roots can be found as far back as antiquity and whose resolution will require the West to find a new way forward if its principles and values are to survive. As seen on Real Time with Bill Maher (2/22/2019) and Fareed Zakaria GPS (2/17/2019).Review Quotes
"Often arresting, always heartfelt prose. This is a brave book . . . we need Mr. Lévy's voice." --Martin Peretz, The Wall Street Journal
"An erudite and impassioned call for the West to retake the lead in championing liberty."--Kirkus Reviews"Striking. . . Lévy's analysis of the internet landscape and its impact on truth is deeply insightful." --Publishers Weekly "The Empire and the Five Kings is that rare book that few write anymore, and few even know how to. It is the product of a truly literate mind of the sort that has virtually gone extinct in this postliterate digital age." --Robert D. Kaplan, author of The Return of Marco Polo's World: War, Strategy, and American Interests in the Twenty-first Century "Bernard-Henri Lévy puts his deep firsthand knowledge of the world together with his extraordinary gift for horizontal thinking--leaping easily from epoch to epoch and from one philosophical idea to the next--to offer a startling and persuasive picture of this moment of decisive historical transition." --Adam Gopnik, author of Paris to the Moon and At the Strangers' Gate "At the heart of Bernard-Henri Lévy's passionate essay is his anger at the betrayal of the Kurds. He spirals out from there to offer a strongly felt portrait of our contemporary reality in which the 'empire of nothing, ' the West that has lost its way, risks being superseded by new powers, the 'five kings, pathetic yet daunting, cartoonish yet terrible.' A challenging analysis, at once scholarly and readable." --Salman Rushdie "In this exquisite gem of a book, Bernard-Henri Levy offers a poetic plea for moral courage and clear thinking in these dark times. He is an international treasure." --Robert Kagan, author of Of Paradise and Power and The Jungle Grows Back: America and Our Imperiled World "A characteristically trenchant and poignant polemic that is part cri-de-coeur, part battle cry . . . The Empire and the Five Kings represents an important, learned assessment of the mounting challenges facing the United States in confronting an increasingly multipolar world order." --The Federalist
About the Author
Bernard-Henri Lévy is a philosopher, activist, filmmaker, and author of more than thirty books including The Genius of Judaism, American Vertigo, Barbarism with a Human Face, and Who Killed Daniel Pearl? His writing has appeared extensively in publications throughout Europe and the United States. His documentaries include Peshmerga, The Battle of Mosul, The Oath of Tobruk, and Bosna! Lévy is cofounder of the antiracist group SOS Racisme and has served on diplomatic missions for the French government.Dimensions (Overall): 8.3 Inches (H) x 5.4 Inches (W) x .7 Inches (D)
Weight: .5 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Sub-Genre: Security (National & International)
Genre: Political Science
Number of Pages: 272
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Format: Paperback
Author: Bernard-Henri Lévy
Language: English
Street Date: February 4, 2020
TCIN: 91357073
UPC: 9781250231307
Item Number (DPCI): 247-10-2240
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
If the item details above aren’t accurate or complete, we want to know about it.
Shipping details
Estimated ship dimensions: 0.7 inches length x 5.4 inches width x 8.3 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 0.5 pounds
We regret that this item cannot be shipped to PO Boxes.
This item cannot be shipped to the following locations: American Samoa (see also separate entry under AS), Guam (see also separate entry under GU), Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico (see also separate entry under PR), United States Minor Outlying Islands, Virgin Islands, U.S., APO/FPO
Return details
This item can be returned to any Target store or Target.com.
This item must be returned within 90 days of the date it was purchased in store, shipped, delivered by a Shipt shopper, or made ready for pickup.
See the return policy for complete information.