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

Tepperman (managing editor, Foreign Affairs) doesn't deny that things in the world are bad. In fact, the introduction to his engrossing book outlines ten areas—from inequality to energy to Islamic extremism—that are seemingly intractable problems. After this bleak setup, Tepperman shares ten case studies of leaders who have taken on major issues and succeeded in effecting positive change. For example, he describes Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's Bolsa Família program in Brazil, which gave cash directly to the poor and brought millions of citizens into the middle class. Others come from Indonesia, Singapore, Botswana, the United States, South Korea, and Mexico, demonstrating that these optimistic accounts are not restricted to one part of the world nor to a particular form of government. While the individual pieces are riveting and well told, Tepperman is after more than simply highlighting "good news" among the bad. He concludes by elucidating what is common across these situations and what leaders—of nations or any other kind of organization—might learn through the crisis.