The Fix: How Nations Survive and Thrive in a World in Decline

Description

Longlisted for the FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award 2016 From immigration reform to energy resources, from political paralysis to inequality and extremism, we are beset by a raft of huge and seemingly insurmountable issues. The daily newspapers, the rolling 24-hour television news, portray a world in terminal decline: the rise of IS, the Syrian refugee crisis, Beijing's financial fallibility and Putin's brazen annexing of the Crimea. The ripples are felt by us all in our everyday lives - in unemployment figures or, if we're lucky, our stubbornly flat payslips, in the crumbling roads, Tube strikes and sky-rocketing tuition fees. What goes under-reported are the success stories. Here, taking ten of the most knotty issues we face today, Jonathan Tepperman examines unsung individuals' bold and innovative attempts against all odds and expectations to solve some of the important problems governments have struggled with for decades. Each chapter tells the story of one government that's found a way to avoid the snares that entangle most of the others. The solutions described in the book aren't speculative: they've all already been tried, and they work. Controversial, provocative but always stimulating, Tepperman here offers a powerful, data-driven case for optimism. Written with flair and an infectious exuberance, The Fix is a book to restore hope to the pessimistic, and offer both practical advice and inspiration in a time of relentless bad news.

Jonathan Tepperman is Managing Editor of Foreign Affairs. He has worked as an editor at Newsweek and as reporter, political-risk consultant and as a speechwriter at the UN. He has written for a long list of publications and appeared regularly in print, online and television media. He is the co-editor of The U.S. vs Al Qaeda: A History of the War on Terror (2011), The Clash of Ideas: The Ideological Battles That Made the Modern World and Will Shape the Future (2011) and Iran and the Bomb: Solving the Persian Puzzle (2012). He is Vice Chairman of the Halifax International Security Forum, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a Fellow of the New York Institute of Humanities. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, he lives in Brooklyn with his family.

We hear every day about all the perils and problems we face. Along comes this wonderful, intelligent, well-written book that tells us about all the solutions. Traveling around the world, Jonathan Tepperman has found countries that took on big challenges, from inequality to immigration, and found innovative solutions. This book will inform and enlighten you - and cheer you up -- Fareed Zakaria, author of 'The Post-American World' Readers looking for good news will love this book. Jonathan Tepperman makes a compelling case, in lively and personal prose, that strong leaders willing to forsake political orthodoxy for good ideas can actually solve the toughest problems the world faces. Governments from Brazil to Canada to Indonesia have successfully tackled problems ranging from inequality to immigration to radical Islam. All is not lost! -- Ann-Marie Slaughter, author of 'Unfinished Business' A refreshing and readable new way of looking at the world. Jonathan Tepperman combines old-fashioned reporting, storytelling, and social science to create a roadmap for solving today's great problems, from radicalism to inequality to political paralysis. Anyone disheartened by the current state of affairs should read this original, super-smart, and eye-opening book -- Charles Duhigg, author of 'The Power of Habit' Just when it looks like the world's problems couldn't get much worse, The Fix cuts through the gloom like a ray of sunshine. With storytelling reminiscent of Michael Lewis and a surgeon's eye for detail, Tepperman takes us on an eye-opening tour of the planet's local villages, cabinet rooms, and presidential palaces - where a few outstanding leaders have made real strides toward solving colossal economic and political challenges. if you care about understanding the world or improving it, this book is not to be missed. It may very well change the face of leadership -- Adam Grant, author of 'Originals' Despair no more. In this original and engaging book, Tepperman takes on the declinist conventional wisdom with insight and vigor. There are answers out there, he argues: all we need to do is look around, and learn. A wise and timely book -- Jon Meacham, author of 'Destiny and Power' Engagingly written ... The Fix makes an acute point in its attempt to recover a lost sense of optimism * Financial Times * The timing of this book could not be better ... Smart and agile ... A smorgasbord of small think: practical, microcosmic solutions to big problems in sometimes surprising places ... Though the book is not long, Mr. Tepperman goes into impressive detail in each case study and delivers his assessments in clear, pared-down prose, careful to describe most of his success stories as experiments that could still fail. The Fix is not clip job either: Mr. Tepperman spend considerable time flying around the globe for his own research ... An invaluable handbook * New York Times * 'Tepperman searches for the formula by which [political leaders] have remedied serious problems. The cases are valuable in their own right ... But for present purposes it is Tepperman's conclusion that is valuable: eschew ideology; focus on pragmatic solutions to core problems; adjust as you go, but be as tough as is necessary' * Times Literary Supplement *