April 06 Book Club Meeting
| Photos |
The Book: We'll be discussing The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, a recent bestseller by Samuel P. Huntington. Here's a recent Amazon review (by a reader) :
| Reviewer: | Solomon-San (New York) - See all my reviews |
This book is a must read for anyone wanting to understand the modern world. This is an expanded version of an article originally published in Foreign Affairs in 1993. The book, like the previous article, is clearly written and is for a far wider audience than just those who read the political science literature. The ten years or so since the original publication of the article have in my opinion only served to highlight how prescient Professor Huntington was. The thesis of this book is that the world is divided into several different civilizations, each vying for power and influence. He defines the main civilizations as: the West (North America, Western Europe and others such as Australia and New Zealand), Orthodox Christian (Slavic), Islam, China and Hindu. (Latin America and Africa are considered only briefly.) The 21st century, he predicts, will be one of conflict between these civilizations, rather than one of conflict between the ideologies of Capitalism or Communism. One need only look at a newspaper to see the validity of this prediction. These conflicts are not new, but are much more important now that each civilization has the power to destroy the civilized world. .........
One cannot convey the importance of this book in a brief review. All one can do is hope that it inspires you to read this very prescient book. If you do you will understand more of what is going on in the world of the 21st century."
Directions to our house coming from Santa Barbara:
Take 101 to the Stork Road/Glen Annie Exit. At the stop light, turn
towards the mountains. Go North about a half a mile on Glen Annie
Road. At the first traffic light, turn left on Cathedral Oaks Road.
Go through one traffic light (Alameda) and make a left onto the next
street, Placer Drive, just before the 40 MPH sign. From Placer take
the FIRST possible right at the yellow School Crossing sign onto Mirano
Drive, and then immediately right again onto SAVONA. We're half way up
the block on the left side of the street. 249 Savona Ave. is a white
house with green trim. The number 249 is easily visible on the
mailbox. You'll usually see our old blue Camry and grey Honda in the
driveway.
249 Savona Ave.
Goleta, CA 93117
martinshapiro@cox.net
(805) 968-0478
Cell 284-3946
"Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine."