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  • Book Review: Slow Poison: Idi Amin, Yoweri Museveni, and the Making of the Ugandan State

    January 17, 2026 9:11 AM | Anonymous

    Slow Poison: Idi Amin, Yoweri Museveni, and the Making of the Ugandan State 

    by Mahmood Mamdani
    October 14, 2025
    Publisher: Bellknap Press

    Slow Poison: Idi Amin, Yoweri Museveni, and the Making of the Ugandan State 
    by Mahmood Mamdani

     A leading public intellectual gives his authoritative and personal account of the tragic postcolonial fate of Uganda, his homeland.

    In 1972, when Mahmood Mamdani came home to Uganda, he found a country transformed by “an orgy of violence.” Two years earlier, with support from the colonial powers of Great Britain and Israel, Idi Amin had forcefully cemented his rule. He soon expelled Uganda’s Indian minority in hopes of fostering a nation for Black Ugandans. The plan backfired. Amin was followed by Yoweri Museveni, who has now ruled for nearly four decades. Whereas Amin tried to create a Black nation out of the majority, Museveni sought to fragment this majority into multiple ethnic minorities, re-creating a version of colonial indirect rule.

    Slow Poison is Mamdani’s firsthand report on the tragic unraveling of his country’s struggle for decolonialization. A witness to East Africa’s endlessly intricate power plays, and one of the most insightful political philosophers of his generation, Mamdani casts a learned and wary eye on Amin, internationally depicted as a buffoon; the radical scholar Museveni; and the global heavyweights that exploited and manipulated Uganda before and after its independence.

    Each leader made violence central to his project, but Mamdani sees a signal difference between Amin, who retained popular support to the end, and Museveni, who has not. The Asian expulsion made Amin a monster in the eyes of the West. In contrast, Museveni was hailed as standard bearer of the “war on terror” in Africa and was protected from accountability for far greater crimes. In exchange for adopting the package of neoliberal reforms known as the Washington Consensus, he became Africa’s poster child. Amin, who aimed to create a nation of Black millionaires, never became one himself. Meanwhile, Uganda’s surrender to privatization has brought Museveni’s family immense wealth, even as the country remains one of the world’s poorest.

    Indigo / Amazon 


    “Mamdani tells the story of his family’s exile―and his own eventual return―in hopes of complicating our view of Amin, and of Ugandan politics. Mamdani is less interested in the jubilation of independence than in the turmoil that followed. Africa’s transformation proved far bloodier than many had hoped, yet Mamdani still insists that the continent’s independence leaders have something to teach the world.”―Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker

    “The book is informed by a hardheaded recognition that nation-building is often an ugly business, and that Amin’s crimes should be evaluated in that context.”―Geoff Shullenberger, Compact Magazine

    “For half a century, Mahmood Mamdani has been one of the world’s most influential and incisive analysts of African and Global South politics. Slow Poison reveals why. Combining history, political critique, and memoir, the book offers a riveting account of the consequences of state-directed violence, ‘tribalization,’ and neoliberal privatization, as well as the various Western entanglements, upending a litany of myths surrounding Idi Amin, Yoweri Museveni, and modern Uganda. Mamdani makes for a compelling witness. Brilliant!”―Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times

    “Mahmood Mamdani is one of the most acute and resourceful observers of our world, but Slow Poison is exceptionally lavish in its offer of bracing insight and eye-opening exposition. Rarely has any one book captured the profound ambiguity of decolonization: the scrambled pursuit of national freedom, the tortuous negotiations and compromises behind declarations of sovereignty, and the sheer slipperiness of postcolonial power.”―Pankaj Mishra, author of The World After Gaza


    See also:

     Slow Poison as reviewed by Pratinav Anil for The Guardian – November 26, 2025

    Slow Poison as reviewed by Zachariah Mampilly for Foreign Affairs – January / February 2026

     Idi Amin and Yoweri Museveni

     

    About the book: 
    Slow Poison: Idi Amin, Yoweri Museveni, and the Making of the Ugandan State
    by Mahmood Mamdani
    Bellknap Press - 352 pages 31.44 (Indigo)
    Publication Date: October 14, 2025


    About the Author: Mahmood Mamdani


     Mahmood Mamdani is the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government. He was also professor and executive director of Makerere Institute of Social Research (2010-2022) in Kampala, where he established an inter-disciplinary doctoral program in Social Studies. He received his PhD from Harvard University in 1974 and specializes in the study of colonialism, anti-colonialism and decolonisation. His works explore the intersection between politics and culture, a comparative study of colonialism since 1452, the history of civil war and genocide in Africa, the Cold War and the War on Terror, the history and theory of human rights, and the politics of knowledge production. Prior to joining the Columbia faculty, Mamdani was a professor at the University of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania (1973–1979), Makerere University in Uganda (1980–1993), and the University of Cape Town (1996–1999). 

    His latest work, Neither Settler Nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities, Harvard, 2020, was shortlisted for the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding, 2021, and as “World History Finalist” by Association of American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence (PROSE Awards)

    From 1998 to 2002, he served as President of CODESRIA (Council for the Development of Social Research in Africa). His essays have appeared in the New Left Review and the London Review of books, among other journals.
     Biography Credit:  Columbia University

    Book Review / Revue de livres 

     Disclaimer: Articles are chosen for relevance and circulated for information only. Views expressed are those of the respective journalists / authors. Republication does not infer endorsement.

    Book Review Editor: Ralph Mahar - Suggestions for Book Reviews will be gratefully received at     thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com

    Avertissement : Les articles sont choisis pour leur pertinence et sont diffusés à titre d'information seulement. Les opinions exprimées sont celles des journalistes/auteurs respectifs. La republication n'implique pas d'approbation. 

    Rédacteur en chef des critiques de livres : Ralph Mahar - Les suggestions de critiques de livres sont les bienvenues à l'adresse suivante :     thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com

     


  • Book Review: Polar War: Submarines, Spies, and the Struggle for Power

    January 11, 2026 8:48 AM | Anonymous

    Polar War: Submarines, Spies, and the Struggle for Power in a Melting Arctic
    by Kenneth R. Rosen
    January 6, 2026
    Publisher: Simon & Schuster

    A gripping blend of travelogue and frontline reporting that reveals how climate change, military ambition, and economic opportunity are transforming the Arctic into the epicenter of a new cold war, where a struggle for dominance between the planet’s great powers heralds the next global conflict.

    Russian spies. Nuclear submarines. Sabotaged pipelines. Undersea communications severed in the dark of night. The fastest-warming place on earth—where apartment buildings, hospitals, and homes crumble daily as permafrost melts and villages get washed away by rising seas—the Arctic stands at the crossroads of geopolitical ambition and environmental catastrophe. As climate change thaws the northern latitudes, opening once ice-bound shipping lanes and access to natural resources, the world’s military powers are rushing to stake their claims in this increasingly strategic region. We’ve entered a new cold war—and every day it grows hotter.

    In Polar War, Kenneth R. Rosen takes readers on an extraordinary journey across the changing face of the far north. Through intimate portraits of scientists, soldiers, and Indigenous community leaders representing the interests of twenty-one countries across four continents, he witnesses firsthand how rising temperatures and growing tensions are reshaping life above and below the Arctic Circle. He finds himself on the trail of Navy SEALs training for arctic warfare, embarks on Coast Guard patrols monitoring Russian incursions, participates in close-quarter-combat training aboard foreign icebreakers in the Arctic sea ice, and visits remote research stations where international cooperation is giving way to espionage and the search for long-frozen biological weapons.

    Drawing on hundreds of interviews and three years of reporting from the frontlines of climate change and great power competition, Rosen blends incisive analysis with the vivid immediacy of a travelogue. His deeply researched and personal accounts capture the diverse landscapes, people, and conflicted interests that define this complex northern region. The result is both an elegy for a vanishing landscape and an urgent warning about how the race for Arctic dominance could spark the next global conflict.

    Indigo / Amazon 

    See also:

    Polar War as reviewed by Kirkus Reviews - September 27, 2025

    Polar War as reviewed by The Times Bookshop - January 2026

    Growing Military Presence in The Arctic
    Image Credit: Daily Mail
    As Published in Defence Research and Studies - April 2023

    About the book: 
    Polar War: Submarines, Spies, and the Struggle for Power in a Melting Arctic
    by Kenneth R. Rosen
    Simon & Schuster - 320 pages $20.99 (Kindle)
    Publication Date: January 6, 2026


    About the Author: Kenneth R. Rosen


    Kenneth R. Rosenis the author of three books including, most recently, Polar War: Submarines, Spies, and the Struggle for Power in a Melting Arctic (Simon & Schuster, 2026). He travels the world to write in-depth stories about the impact of major geopolitical issues and conflict on individual lives. He was a 2025 Ira A. Lipman Fellow at Columbia University.

    In 2024, he was a MacDowell fellow, a finalist for a Scripps Howard Award in opinion writing, and a de Groot Foundation Writer of Note grant recipient.

    Rosen received the 2022 Kurt Schork Freelance Award for his reporting from Ukraine, Syria, and Malta, which the judges called “courageous multifaceted investigative work.” He is a two-time finalist for the Livingston Award in international reporting and, among other honors, he received the 2018 Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award for War Correspondents for his reporting from Iraq and was a finalist in 2019 for his reporting from within Syria.

    He is the author of Troubled: The Failed Promise of America’s Behavioral Treatment Programs (Little A, 2021), which The New York Times Book Review called “a searing exposé” and a “public service.” Troubled was a Times Editors’ Choice, one of Newsweek’s most highly anticipated titles of 2021, and was optioned separately as a feature film and a docuseries. 

    Troubled helped launch independent inquiries, by the Government Accountability Office and the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, into abuses at congregate care facilities for at-risk youth. His first book, Bulletproof Vest (Bloomsbury, 2020), was named one of the most fascinating books WIRED read that year.

    He has written for the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, and VQR, among others. His work has been translated into Arabic, Spanish, German, Russian, Ukrainian and Japanese.

    As a foreign correspondent and magazine writer, he has reported from more than two dozen countries across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

    He worked at The New York Times for seven years and was a senior editor and correspondent at Newsweek. He now divides his time between Northern Italy and Western Massachusetts with his wife and their three children.
    Biography Credit:  kennethrrosen.com
    À propos du livre :
    Guerre polaire : sous-marins, espions et lutte pour le pouvoir dans un Arctique en pleine fonte
    par Kenneth R. Rosen
    Simon & Schuster - 320 pages 20,99 $ (Kindle)
    Date de publication : 6 janvier 2026



    Disclaimer: Articles are chosen for relevance and circulated for information only. Views expressed are those of the respective journalists / authors. Republication does not infer endorsement.

    Book Review Editor: Ralph Mahar - Suggestions for Book Reviews will be gratefully received at thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com

    Avertissement : Les articles sont choisis pour leur pertinence et sont diffusés à titre d'information seulement. Les opinions exprimées sont celles des journalistes/auteurs respectifs. La republication n'implique pas d'approbation. 

    cteur en chef des critiques de livres : Ralph Mahar - Les suggestions de critiques de livres sont les bienvenues à l'adresse suivante : thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com

  • Things Are Never So Bad That They Can't Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela by William Neuman

    January 05, 2026 9:56 AM | Anonymous

    Book Review:
    Things Are Never So Bad That They Can't Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela
    by William Neuman
    March 15, 2022
    Publisher: St. Martin's Press
    Things Are Never So Bad That They Can't Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela
    by William Neuman

    Winner of the 2022 Cornelius Ryan Award of the Overseas Press Club of America for the best nonfiction book on international affairs.
    Foreign Affairs Best Books of 2022
    National Endowment for Democracy Notable Books of 2022

    "Richly reported...a thorough and important history." -Tim Padgett, The New York Times

    A nuanced and deeply-reported account of the collapse of Venezuela, and what it could mean for the rest of the world.

    Today, Venezuela is a country of perpetual crisis—a country of rolling blackouts, nearly worthless currency, uncertain supply of water and food, and extreme poverty. In the same land where oil—the largest reserve in the world—sits so close to the surface that it bubbles from the ground, where gold and other mineral resources are abundant, and where the government spends billions of dollars on public works projects that go abandoned, the supermarket shelves are bare and the hospitals have no medicine. Twenty percent of the population has fled, creating the largest refugee exodus in the world, rivaling only war-torn Syria’s crisis. Venezuela’s collapse affects all of Latin America, as well as the United States and the international community.

    Republicans like to point to Venezuela as the perfect example of the emptiness of socialism, but it is a better model for something else: the destructive potential of charismatic populist leadership. The ascent of Hugo Chávez was a precursor to the emergence of strongmen that can now be seen all over the world, and the success of the corrupt economy he presided over only lasted while oil sold for more than $100 a barrel. Chávez’s regime and policies, which have been reinforced under Nicolás Maduro, squandered abundant resources and ultimately bankrupted the country.

    Things Are Never So Bad That They Can’t Get Worse is a fluid combination of journalism, memoir, and history that chronicles Venezuela’s tragic journey from petro-riches to poverty. Author William Neuman witnessed it all firsthand while living in Caracas and serving as the New York Times Andes Region Bureau Chief. His book paints a clear-eyed, riveting, and highly personal portrait of the crisis unfolding in real time, with all of its tropical surrealism, extremes of wealth and suffering, and gripping drama. It is also a heartfelt reflection of the country’s great beauty and vibrancy—and the energy, passion, and humor of its people, even under the most challenging circumstances.

    Indigo / Amazon (Only Available in E-book format)


    "Richly reported...a thorough and important history." -Tim Padgett,—New York Times
     
    See also:

    Things Are Never So Bad as reviewed by Gabriel Hetland for ReVista - Harvard Review of Latin America - December 15, 2022

    Things Are Never So Bad as reviewed by Richard Feinberg for Foreign Affairs - May / June 2022

    Things Are Never So Bad as reviewed by Tim Padgett for The New York Times - March 15, 2022

    About the book: 
    Things Are Never So Bad That They Can't Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela
    by William Neuman
    St. Martin's Press - 336 pages $21.99 (Kindle)
    Publication Date: March 15, 2022


    About the Author: William Neuman


    William Neuman is an author and journalist who reported for the New York Times for over 15 years. He served as the Times Andes Region Bureau Chief from 2012 to 2016 while based in Caracas, Venezuela. He previously reported for the New York Post and his work has also been featured by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and The Independent, among others.

    He began his journalism career while living in Mexico, and has published English translations of several Spanish-language novels.
    Biography Credit:  MacMillan Publishers
    À propos du livre :
    Les choses ne sont jamais si mauvaises qu'elles ne puissent empirer : dans les coulisses de l'effondrement du Venezuela
    par William Neuman
    St. Martin's Press - 336 pages 21,99 $ (Kindle)
    Date de publication : 15 mars 2022
    Book Review / Revue de livres 
    Disclaimer: Articles are chosen for relevance and circulated for information only. Views expressed are those of the respective journalists / authors. Republication does not infer endorsement.
    Book Review Editor: Ralph Mahar - Suggestions for Book Reviews will be gratefully received at thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com
    Avertissement : Les articles sont choisis pour leur pertinence et sont diffusés à titre d'information seulement. Les opinions exprimées sont celles des journalistes/auteurs respectifs. La republication n'implique pas d'approbation. 
    Rédacteur en chef des critiques de livres : Ralph Mahar - Les suggestions de critiques de livres sont les bienvenues à l'adresse suivante : thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com


  • Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company by Patrick McGee

    December 28, 2025 9:20 AM | Anonymous

    Book Review:
    Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company
    by Patrick McGee
    May 13, 2025
    Publisher: Scribner
    Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company
    by Patrick McGee

    “Phenomenal…a jaw-dropping book.” —Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

    Named by both the New York Times and the Economist as one of the best books of the year so far, this “scrupulously reported” (The New Yorker) and “astonishing” (The Daily Telegraph, London) book rivets with its portrayal of how Apple allowed itself to become dependent on China for a huge percentage of its manufacturing, making it vulnerable and unwittingly laying the groundwork for the Asian superpower to rival the US in technological expertise.

    After struggling to build products on three continents, Apple turned to China’s seemingly endless supply of cheap labor. It soon deployed thousands of engineers, trained millions of workers, and invested hundreds of billions of dollars to create the most advanced global supply chain. These efforts fueled the iPhone’s dominance—but also laid the foundation for a powerful, state-supported Chinese electronics industry. What began as a business decision evolved into a cautionary tale of global trade, tech rivalry, and national security.

    Without intending to, Apple helped Beijing acquire technological influence that could now be weaponized—a central concern in the ongoing US-China tech war. Drawing on over two hundred interviews, Patrick McGee exposes never-before-reported details from Silicon Valley to Shenzhen: internal emails, secretive executive meetings, and overlooked voices inside the company’s China operations.

    You’ll meet the “Gang of Eight” executives tasked with appeasing Beijing, a Mormon missionary who launched Apple retail in China, and a veteran whose dreams of improving factory conditions were crushed by both Apple’s demands and Xi Jinping’s authoritarian crackdown. From Foxconn and Tim Cook to the Chinese Communist Party and Taiwan Semiconductor, this is a revelatory look at how Apple, in seeking efficiency, became entangled in the very politics it once claimed to challenge.

    For readers of Chip War, American Factory, and The Big Short, Apple in China is a searing examination of corporate power, Chinese nationalism, deglobalization, and the fragile relationship between Silicon Valley and the world’s rising superpower.

    Indigo / Amazon 

    “This is the best book about Apple ever written, one of the best books about China ever written, and one of the best books about tech, period.”
    —Ben Thompson, Stratechery

    “As Patrick McGee makes devastatingly clear in his smart and comprehensive Apple in China, the American company’s decision under Tim Cook, the current C.E.O., to manufacture about 90 percent of its products in China has created an existential vulnerability not just for Apple, but for the United States—nurturing the conditions for Chinese technology to outpace American innovation.…A persuasive exposé.”
    —New York Times

    “Flips the usual narrative about Apple and China on its head… forcefully argues that Apple may be the single biggest supporter of President Xi’s ‘Made in China 2025’ plan.”
    —Vanity Fair

    “An eye-opening exposé … [which] chronicles a lucrative relationship stained by manipulation, violence and abuse.”
    —The Telegraph (UK)

    “A riveting account of how Apple came to depend on Chinese suppliers for most of its products… [Apple’s] history holds important lessons for the two economies—and for other big manufacturers like Tesla.”
    —Reuters Breakingviews

    “Timely… McGee excels at describing the intricacies of supply chains… explains how Apple became inseparable from China and what the fracturing of global trade means for one of the world’s most valuable companies.”
    —The Economist

    “To call this book a page-turner is almost to diminish its importance. It is a once-in-a-generation read.”
    —Robert D. Kaplan, author of the New York Times bestseller The Revenge of Geography and Waste Land: A World in Permanent Crisis

    “Deeply researched, disturbing, and enlightening…In these pages we watch as the world's most profitable company gets outmaneuvered by the world's most powerful dictator.”
    —Chris Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Chip War

    “In this hugely important new book, Patrick McGee shows us how Apple's quest for wealth and power in China may in the end be the undoing both of the company and of America's quest for technology supremacy.”
    —Rana Foroohar, Financial Times Global Business Columnist, CNN Global Economic Analyst, and author of Makers and Takers

    “Absolutely riveting. An extraordinary story, expertly told—and one that has important implications for Apple, for tech, and for global geoeconomics.”
    —Peter Frankopan, Professor of Global History at Oxford and bestselling author of The Silk Roads 
    See also:

    Apple in China as reviewed by Kirkus Reviews - May 15, 2025

    Apple in China as reviewed by Elizabeth Economy for Foreign Affairs - November / December 2025. 

    Why Apple can make iPhones only in China, and what Canada can learn from that by John Turley-Ewart for The Globe and Mail - June 2, 2025

    Apple in China as reviewed by Hannah Beech for The New York Times - May 15, 2025. 

    About the book: 
    Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company
    by Patrick McGee
    Scribner - 448 pages $23.95 (Kindle)
    Publication Date: May 13, 2025


    About the Author: Patrick McGee


    Business journalist Patrick McGee has written for the Financial Times since 2013, reporting from Hong Kong, Germany, and California.

    He led the FT’s Apple coverage from 2019 to 2023 and won a San Francisco Press Club Award — best tech article for a newspaper, 2023 — for his deep dive into Apple’s HR problems. His FT magazine cover article, "Inside Peloton's epic run of bungled calls and bad luck," received an Honorable Mention for SABEW's Best in Business Awards, 2022 (co-authored with Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson). 

    Patrick's focus over the past decade has been on Apple, digital advertising, robotaxis, electric vehicles, the Volkswagen diesel scandal, and connected fitness. His writing has appeared in the Times of London, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Irish Times, The Straits Times and The Toronto Star.

    Previously, he was a bond reporter at The Wall Street Journal in New York.

    He has a Master’s in global diplomacy from SOAS, University of London, and a degree in religious studies from the University of Toronto. Originally from Calgary, Canada, he resides in the Bay Area.
    Biography Credit:  Patrick-McGee.com
    À propos du livre :
    Apple en Chine : la conquête de la plus grande entreprise au monde
    par Patrick McGee
    Scribner - 448 pages 23,95 $ (Kindle)
    Date de publication : 13 mai 2025

    Copyright © 2025
    The Pillar Society
    La Société Pillar
    All rights reserved / Tous droits réservés

    Our email address is:
    thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com


  • Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future by Dan Wang

    December 21, 2025 9:01 AM | Anonymous

    Book Review:
    Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future
    by Dan Wang
    August 26, 2025
    Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company
    Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future by Dan Wang

    A riveting, firsthand investigation of China’s seismic progress, its human costs, and what it means for America.

    For close to a decade, technology analyst Dan Wang—“a gifted observer of contemporary China” (Ross Douthat)—has been living through the country’s astonishing, messy progress. China’s towering bridges, gleaming railways, and sprawling factories have improved economic outcomes in record time. But rapid change has also sent ripples of pain throughout the society. This reality—political repression and astonishing growth—is not a paradox, but rather a feature of China’s engineering mindset.
    In Breakneck, Wang blends political, economic, and philosophical analysis with reportage to reveal a provocative new framework for understanding China—one that helps us see America more clearly, too. While China is an engineering state, relentlessly pursuing megaprojects, the United States has stalled. America has transformed into a lawyerly society, reflexively blocking everything, good and bad

    Blending razor-sharp analysis with immersive storytelling, Wang offers a gripping portrait of a nation in flux. Breakneck traverses metropolises like Shanghai, Chongqing, and Shenzhen, where the engineering state has created not only dazzling infrastructure but also a sense of optimism. The book also exposes the downsides of social engineering, including the surveillance of ethnic minorities, political suppression, and the traumas of the one-child policy and zero-Covid.

    In an era of animosity and mistrust, Wang unmasks the shocking similarities between the United States and China. Breakneck reveals how each country points toward a better path for the other: Chinese citizens would be better off if their government could learn to value individual liberties, while Americans would be better off if their government could learn to embrace engineering—and to produce better outcomes for the many, not just the few.

    Indigo / Amazon 

    Reviews:

    [A] brilliant book—equal parts gripping and depressing.—Tunku Varadarajan, Wall Street Journal

    A landmark work. . . Wang’s writing is lucid, his insights are original, and his ability to bridge empirical observation with philosophical reflection makes this book essential reading for anyone concerned with the strategic implications of China’s rise.—Jean-Thomas Nicole, The Cipher Brief

    If you want to know what is driving today's China or America, Chinese-Canadian analyst Dan Wang's new book is an indispensable guide. Wang shows that the world’s most urgent and challenging twenty-first-century task may be to forge a synthesis of the best of China and America, while avoiding the worst of each.—J. Bradford DeLong, Project Syndicate

    An illuminating account of China’s dizzying rise and its deepening pathologies.—Chris Miller, author of Chip War

    The best recent book on China, on China and America, and arguably the best book of the year flat out. It is marvelously written and brilliantly understands the dilemmas of our modern world.—Tyler Cowen

    Dan Wang is able to illuminate China like no one else, and his annual letters have long been mandatory reading in Silicon Valley. Breakneck expands this analysis and delivers a simultaneously riveting and revelatory account of one of the most important topics of our time. —Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe

    A must-read book on the intense competition between the United States and China for global leadership in the twenty-first century.—Julian Gewirtz, former White House Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs and author of Never Turn Back

    A brilliant book about how China got ahead, how the United States stagnated, and the challenges that both will face in the future.—Odd Arne Westad, professor of history at Yale University and co-author of The Great Transformation: China’s Road from Revolution to Reform

    China outpaces and outproduces the United States in a growing number of high-tech fields. With his trademark mix of personal observation and objective analysis, Dan Wang explains not only what is happening, but why. The result is a tour de force essential for policymakers, academics, investors and entrepreneurs. 
    —Rush Doshi, assistant professor of security studies at Georgetown University and C.V. Starr senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
    See also:

    Breakneck as reviewed by Jean-Thomas Nicole for The Cipher Brief - August 26, 2025

    Breakneck as reviewed by Elizabeth Economy for Foreign Affairs - November / December 2025

    Breakneck as reviewed by Jeremy Williams for The Earthbound Report - August 22, 2025

    About the book: 
    Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future
    by Dan Wang
    W.W. Norton & Company - 275 pages $20.99 (Kindle)
    Publication Date: August 26, 2025


    About the Author: Dan Wang


    Dan Wang is a Canadian technology analyst and writer, specializing in contemporary China. Wang has been  a visiting scholar at the Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center, and a research fellow at the Hoover Institution.  Formerly the chief technology analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics, a Shanghai-based economic research firm, and a fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center, Wang lived in China during all three years of the country’s zero-Covid strategy. Being one of the few foreigners on the ground in China helped him to see the state’s logic while the rest of the world looked on in bafflement.

    Wang was born in Yunnan, China. He was raised in Canada, where his family lived in both Ottawa and Toronto. As a teenager, he participated in the Royal Canadian Army Cadet program in Ottawa.

    Wang later moved to the United States. He studied economics and philosophy at the University of Rochester, graduating in 2014

    Wang has commented extensively on U.S.-China relations through the lens of technology, including semiconductor manufacturing and social media. In August 2025, his book Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future was released.
    Biography Credit:  Wikipedia & Global Speakers Bureau
    À propos du livre :
    Breakneck : La quête de la Chine pour façonner l'avenir
    par Dan Wang
    W.W. Norton & Company - 275 pages 20,99 $ (Kindle)
    Date de publication : 26 août 2025

    Disclaimer: Articles are chosen for relevance and circulated for information only. Views expressed are those of the respective journalists / authors. Republication does not infer endorsement.
    Book Review Editor: Ralph Mahar - Suggestions for Book Reviews will be gratefully received at thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com
    Avertissement : Les articles sont choisis pour leur pertinence et sont diffusés à titre d'information seulement. Les opinions exprimées sont celles des journalistes/auteurs respectifs. La republication n'implique pas d'approbation. 
    Rédacteur en chef des critiques de livres : Ralph Mahar - Les suggestions de critiques de livres sont les bienvenues à l'adresse suivante : thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com

  • Chasing Chi; The FBI’s Groundbreaking Pursuit of China’s Most Prolific Spy Family by James E. Gaylor

    December 14, 2025 12:51 PM | Anonymous

    Book Review:
     Chasing Chi: The FBI’s Groundbreaking Pursuit of China’s Most Prolific Spy Family
    by James E. Gaylord
    December 16, 2025
    Publisher: Prometheus
    Chasing Chi: The FBI’s Groundbreaking Pursuit of China’s Most Prolific Spy Family
    by James E. Gaylord

    Espionage, betrayal, and the FBI’s historic victory—this is the true story of the hunt for Chi Mak and his spy ring.

    It began as furtive tip, grew to fevered investigation, and climaxed with midnight airport arrests to prevent US military secrets from being lost forever, and it all centered around a diminutive, bespectacled engineer from Kwang-Tung, China.

    Who was Chi Mak? A brilliant immigrant engineer eager to live in the West and enjoy the fruits of his labor? Or Mao’s Marxist soldier, itching to steal US Navy secrets to leapfrog China’s navy to parity with, and eventual supremacy over, America’s Seventh Fleet?

    Chasing Chi is a compelling read and first-person account of the trailblazing investigation and prosecution of Chi Mak and his family and friends. For decades, they stole sensitive US military and commercial technologies for the Peoples’ Republic of China. FBI Special Agent James Gaylord, who directed the investigation, recounts this mesmerizing tale by drawing upon his eyewitness experiences and notes, case evidence, investigative files, and court records to weave a fascinating spy thriller detailing Chi Mak’s betrayal. This incredible true-life story highlights behind-the-curtain intrigues, obstacles, betrayals, and hard-won victories, while pointing out the heroes and villains along the way.

    Overcoming bureaucratic friction, cowardice, and sabotage jeopardizing their efforts at every turn, Special Agent Gaylord and his squad, call sign “SARA-4,” persevered, breaking the FBI’s historic string of failures, producing the most successful prosecution of China’s spies ever, and re-writing the manual for convicting foreign agents.

    Indigo / Amazon 

    Reviews:

    None 
    See also:

    Chasing Chi as reviewed by Jean-Thomas Nicole for The Cypher Brief  -  December 2, 2025 
    The Reviewer —Jean-Thomas Nicole is a Policy Advisor with Public Safety Canada. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or positions of Public Safety Canada or the Canadian government

    Chasing Chi as reviewed by Publishers Weekly  -  December 14, 2025 
    James E. Gaylord interviewed by Host Sasha Ingber International Spy Museum's "SpyCast" on his recent book, Chasing Chi. - November 20, 2025

    About the book: 
    Chasing Chi: The FBI’s Groundbreaking Pursuit of China’s Most Prolific Spy Family
    by James E. Gaylord
    Prometheus - 408 pages $49.99 (Kindle)
    Publication Date: December 16, 2025


    About the Author: James E. Gaylord


    James E. Gaylord served as an FBI Special Agent and Supervisor for over thirty years, leading counterintelligence and counterterrorism efforts against every major hostile nation and international terrorist organization. In 2004, he spearheaded one of the most complex espionage investigations imaginable, that of Chi Mak, his family, and his associates. The efforts of Agent Gaylord and his squad led to the unprecedented, historic convictions of six spies for China and multiple counterintelligence awards.

    Since these convictions, Special Agent Gaylord has supplied hundreds of case briefings worldwide to academia, government agencies, defense contractors, and professional and private organizations. He has also provided interviews and materials for various magazine articles, television programs, podcasts, US intelligence training sessions, and museum exhibitions. In 2017, he concluded his FBI career supervising investigations of the People's Republic of China and went on to direct corporate ethics matters in the private sector.
    Biography Credit:  ChasingChi.com
    À propos du livre :
    Chasing Chi : La traque révolutionnaire par le FBI de la famille d'espions la plus prolifique de Chine
    par James E. Gaylord
    Prometheus - 408 pages 49,99 $ (Kindle)
    Date de publication : 16 décembre 2025

    Copyright © 2025
    The Pillar Society
    La Société Pillar
    All rights reserved / Tous droits réservés

    Our email address is:
     thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com

  • The Dark Side of the Earth: Russia’s Short-lived Victory over Totalitarianism by Mikhail Zygar

    December 07, 2025 9:23 AM | Anonymous

    Book Review:
    The Dark Side of the Earth: Russia’s Short-lived Victory over Totalitarianism
    by Mikhail Zygar
    November 11, 2025
    Publisher: Scribner
    The Dark Side of the Earth: Russia’s Short-lived Victory over Totalitarianism
    by Mikhail Zygar

    From “one of Russia’s smartest and best-sourced” (The New York Times) reporters comes a gripping and urgent exploration of why the Soviet Union’s collapse was incomplete and the Cold War was never over—revealing the resurgence of imperialism in Russia and its current implications for the war in Ukraine.

    Russian-born journalist Mikhail Zygar was ten years old when the Soviet Union collapsed. Now, after nearly ten years of research, he offers a timely and compelling new approach on Russian history—one that rewrites everything we thought we knew about the fall of the Soviet Union—and argues that its ending is yet to come. Starting with the historic launch of the first human into space in April 1961, Zygar unravels a dramatic story of resistance, resilience, and resurgence that led to the Soviet Union’s dissolution—and the echoes of its legacy today.

    Zygar conducted several hundred exclusive interviews with key figures, including Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, first presidents of the independent post-Soviet republics, the last first secretaries of these republics, and leaders of independence movements within them, as well as Western politicians and diplomats who were witnesses to and participants in those events. He dives into the struggles and triumphs of figures like Andrei Sakharov, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and Vladimir Vysotsky, whose defiance of totalitarianism is both inspiring and deeply relevant. Zygar explains how the “victory” over the Soviet Empire may have been short-lived, as today’s Russian regime maintains its imperial ambitions.

    A must-read for anyone looking to understand the origins of modern Russian fascism, The Dark Side of the Earth explores how imperial and nationalist ideas developed during the Soviet era and eventually gave rise to the current Putinist ideology. Zygar’s work is uniquely powerful—fueled by his personal ties to the Soviet era, access to historical archives, and interviews that crack open hidden truths, including several with individuals who had never before spoken on the record.

    More than a history lesson, The Dark Side of the Earth is a call to action and a testament to the enduring fight for truth and freedom. Zygar urges us to confront the narratives we’ve accepted and rethink how we face oppression today. Bold, brilliant, and deeply human, this is a story that demands to be heard.

    Indigo / Amazon 

    Reviews:

    "Seasoned journalist Zygar draws from a decade of interviews with a wide array of Soviet leaders, including Mikhail Gorbachev, writers, musicians, poets, and academics, to reveal a lively underground of Russian hopes and yearning for freedom. . . . Zygar's richly specific and dynamic history sets the stage for today's Russian fascism." —Booklist

    "Exiled Russian journalist Zygar delivers a sobering portrait of Russia’s brief moment in democratic sunlight. . . . an extraordinarily revealing account of how the Russia we know from today’s headlines came into being." —Kirkus (starred review)

    "Mikhail Zygar's The Dark Side of the Earth is an idiosyncratic, insightful account of both the end of the Soviet Union and the rise of Putinism—a useful and timely reminder of how closely these two forms of dictatorship are connected." —Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag and Autocracy, Inc

    "I love books that tell the story of an entire country through the intimate, everyday lives of its people—both famous and unknown. Mikhail Zygar is one of the most thoughtful Russian writers of our time, and behind every page lies meticulous, painstaking work. You may think you know how it all ends, but still, you simply can't put it down." —Yulia Navalnaya

    "In Zygar’s book, it's people who take center stage—not messiahs; individual characters, not abstract nations. We see that it wasn't dictators who saved the world from apocalypse, but humanists. And the contrast with today's rulers makes the book all the more bitter and revealing. And yes, it's brilliantly written—with a lively, sparkling wit." —Dmitry Muratov, journalist and winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize

    "Mikhail Zygar is one of the most brilliant observers of contemporary Russia. He is both a protagonist in his country's recent history and a skilled analyst of its politics. The Dark Side of the Earth showcases his unique perspectives, and considerable talent for vivid storytelling as he looks back at the collapse of the Soviet Union. This is also a deeply personal story, which makes for a particularly powerful narrative and a profoundly moving book." —Fiona Hill, former National Security Council official and New York Times bestselling author of There Is Nothing For You Here 
    See also:

    The Dark Side of the Earth as reviewed by Jean-Thomas Nicole for The Cypher Brief  -  November 11, 2025 
    The Reviewer —Jean-Thomas Nicole is a Policy Advisor with Public Safety Canada. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or positions of Public Safety Canada or the Canadian government

    The Dark Side of the Earth as reviewed by Kirkus Reviews  -  September 15, 2025 

    About the book: 
    The Dark Side of the Earth: Russia’s Short-lived Victory over Totalitarianism
    by Mikhail Zygar
    Scribner - 560 pages $33.99 (Kindle)
    Publication Date: November 11, 2025


    About the Author: Mikhail Zygar


    Mikhail Zygar is a journalist, historian, and best-selling author, known for his work on Russian politics, propaganda, and authoritarianism. He was the founding editor-in-chief of TV Rain (Dozhd), Russia’s only independent news television channel, which became a critical voice against state censorship until he was forced into exile.  

    Zygar is the author of several internationally acclaimed books, including "All the Kremlin’s Men," a best-seller that provides an insider’s account of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle; "The Empire Must Die," a deeply researched narrative on the fall of the Russian Empire and the revolutionary forces of the early 20th century; and "War and Punishment," which was named one of The New Yorker’s best nonfiction books of 2023. His books have been translated into multiple languages and are widely used in academic and journalistic discussions on Russia.  

    Zygar is a leading commentator on Russian affairs, regularly contributing op-eds to The New York Times, Time Magazine, Vanity Fair, Foreign Affairs, and The Washington Post. He is also a frequent guest on CNN, providing expert analysis on Russia and global politics. In 2018, he was a TED Fellow and delivered a TED Talk on history, propaganda, and disinformation.   He has lectured at leading universities, including Harvard, MIT, Columbia, Georgetown, and Stanford. In 2024, he taught at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, and in 2025, at Columbia University.
    Biography Credit:  Yale University - School of Global Affairs
    À propos du livre :
    Le côté obscur de la Terre : la victoire éphémère de la Russie sur le totalitarisme
    par Mikhail Zygar
    Scribner - 560 pages 33,99 $ (Kindle)
    Date de publication : 11 novembre 2025

    Disclaimer: Articles are chosen for relevance and circulated for information only. Views expressed are those of the respective journalists / authors. Republication does not infer endorsement.
    Book Review Editor: Ralph Mahar - Suggestions for Book Reviews will be gratefully received at thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com
    Avertissement : Les articles sont choisis pour leur pertinence et sont diffusés à titre d'information seulement. Les opinions exprimées sont celles des journalistes/auteurs respectifs. La republication n'implique pas d'approbation. 
    Rédacteur en chef des critiques de livres : Ralph Mahar - Les suggestions de critiques de livres sont les bienvenues à l'adresse suivante : thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com

  • King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation by Scott Anderson

    November 30, 2025 9:46 AM | Anonymous

    Book Review:
    King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation
    by Scott Anderson
    August 5, 2025
    Publisher: Signal
    King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation
    by Scott Anderson

    From the author of the acclaimed international bestseller Lawrence in Arabia, a stunningly revelatory narrative history of one of the most momentous events in modern times and the dawn of the age of religious nationalism.

    On November 16th, 1977, at a state dinner in the White House, President Jimmy Carter toasted Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, King of Kings, Light of the Aryans, Shadow of God on Earth, praising his “enlightened leadership” and extolling Iran as “a stabilizing influence in that part of the world.” Iran had the world’s fifth largest army and was awash in billions of dollars in oil revenues. Construction cranes dotted the skyline of its booming capital, Tehran. The regime’s feared secret police force SAVAK had crushed communist opposition, and the Shah had bought off the conservative Muslim clergy inside the country. He seemed invulnerable, and invaluable to the United States as an ally in the Cold War. Fourteen months later the Shah fled Iran into exile, forced from the throne by a volcanic religious revolution led by a fiery cleric named Ayatollah Khomeini. How could the United States (and other Western allies), which had one of the largest CIA stations in the world and thousands of military personnel in Iran, have been so blind?

    The spellbinding story Scott Anderson weaves is one of a dictator oblivious to the disdain of his subjects and a superpower blundering into disaster. The Shah emerges as a fascinating, Shakespearean character – a wannabe Richard III unaware of the depth of dissent to his rule, indecisive like Hamlet when action was called for, and at the end Lear-like as he raged against his fate. The Americans made terrible decisions at almost every juncture, from a secret pact designed by Kissinger and Nixon, to dismissing reports from the one diplomat who saw how hated the Shah was by the Iranian people (unlike almost all his colleagues, he spoke Farsi), to Jimmy Carter allowing the Shah to come to America for medical treatment, which set off the hostage crisis which forever damaged American influence in the world.

    Scott Anderson tells this astonishing tale with the narrative brio, mordant wit, and keen analysis that made his bestselling Lawrence in Arabia one of the key texts in understanding the modern Middle East. Based on voluminous research and dozens of interviews, King of Kings is driven by penetrating portraits of the people involved – the Iranian-American doctor who convinced American officials Khomeini was a moderate; the American teacher who learned of Khomeini’s influence long before the cleric was even mentioned in official reports; the Shah’s court minister who kept a detailed diary of all their interactions; the Shah’s wife Farah who still mourns her lost kingdom; the hypocritical and misguided Jimmy Carter; and the implacable Khomeini who outmaneuvered his foes at every turn.

    The Iranian Revolution, Anderson convincingly argues, was as world-shattering an event as the French and Russian revolutions. In the Middle East, in India, in Southeast Asia, in Europe, and the United States, the hatred of economically-marginalized, religiously-fervent masses for a wealthy secular elite has led to violence and upheaval – and Iran was the template. King of Kings is a bravura work of history, and a warning.

    Indigo / Amazon 

    Reviews:

    "In his masterful and gripping account of the Iranian revolution, Scott Anderson gives us a page-turning history lesson that is more relevant than ever: A story of American diplomatic blunders and miscalculations that led to the loss of a vital ally and the commencement of hostilities that have roiled the world for nearly four decades. Taking us inside the fortified walls of the shah’s palaces, King of Kings lays bare the folly and hubris that led to the shah’s demise, the hostage crisis and a radical theocracy that would reshape the Middle East."
    —Rajiv Chandrasekaran, author of National Book Award finalist Imperial Life in the Emerald City

    "Instantly absorbing, King of Kings is an exhilarating plunge into the psychology of unchecked power, which secludes, blinds, and ultimately betrays its holders. Anderson is a master of the telling detail; he gives us lessons not only from the Shah’s undoing but also from Washington’s weakness for rigid assumptions—until history, as it so often does, shatters the illusion of control."
    —Evan Osnos, author of the National Book Award winner Age of Ambition

    “Anderson’s brilliant new account of the events leading to the shah’s fall is both masterful and mesmerizing. With bracing clarity, drawing from interviews with direct participants, King of Kings shows senior Iranian and U.S. officials sleepwalking into a disaster with global consequences—and one that was far from inevitable. A must-read for anyone looking to understand the origins of the Middle East’s most dangerous regime.”
    —Joby Warrick, author of Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction

    “The Iranian Revolution was one of the most momentous events of the Twentieth Century, one whose reverberations continue to shape the Middle East. In this highly readable and probing book, Scott Anderson revisits the events of that critical year, and draws on previously unknown information to chart the course of events that made what seemed improbable to become inevitable: the fall of the monarchy before a triumphant revolution.”
    —Vali Nasr, Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at the School of Advanced Studies of Johns Hopkins University and the author of Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
    See also:

    King of Kings as reviewed by John Simpson The Guardian  -  July 28, 2025 King of King as reviewed by Mark Bowden for The New York Times - August 2, 2025
    Author Scott Anderson shares the explosive true story behind King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution with host Kamal Al-Solaylee at North York Central Library's Concourse Event Space on October 22, 2025.

    About the book: 
    King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation
    by Scott Anderson
    Signal - 745 pages 18.99 (Indigo)
    Publication Date: August 5, 2025


    About the Author: Scott Anderson


    Scott Anderson is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine. He is the author, most recently, of Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East, which was shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award. The New York Times literary critic Janet Maslin called it ''superbly fine-tuned'' and an ''original, illuminating history that requires and rewards close attention.''

    Anderson was raised in East Asia and attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop. In his 33 years as a war correspondent, he has covered conflicts in Chechnya, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka and Sudan. He and Pellegrin have been collaborating for the magazine since 1999.
    Biography Credit: Pulitzer Centre

    À propos du livre :
    Le roi des rois : La révolution iranienne : une histoire d'orgueil, d'illusion et d'erreur de calcul catastrophique
    par Scott Anderson
    Signal - 745 pages 18,99 $ (Indigo)
    Date de publication : 5 août 2025

    Disclaimer: Articles are chosen for relevance and circulated for information only. Views expressed are those of the respective journalists / authors. Republication does not infer endorsement.
    Book Review Editor: Ralph Mahar - Suggestions for Book Reviews will be gratefully received at thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com
    Avertissement : Les articles sont choisis pour leur pertinence et sont diffusés à titre d'information seulement. Les opinions exprimées sont celles des journalistes/auteurs respectifs. La republication n'implique pas d'approbation. 
    Rédacteur en chef des critiques de livres : Ralph Mahar - Les suggestions de critiques de livres sont les bienvenues à l'adresse suivante : thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com


  • Escalating Fury by Marc La Ferrière

    November 23, 2025 11:00 AM | Anonymous

    Escalating Fury, Covert Operations and Deeper Fascinations
    by Marc LaFerrière
    Published: November 2, 2025

    Critique de livre : 
    Escalating Fury :
    opérations secrètes et fascinations profondes
    par Marc La Ferrière
    Publié : 2 novembre 225

    MARC LA FERRIÈRE'S 2ND BOOK AND 1ST NOVEL ESCALATING FURY RELEASED ON NOVEMBER 2, 2025 AND AVAILABLE IN BOOK STORES NOW

    Our colleague and former co-worker, Marc Laferrière, has found a new gig - Author and it's working very well for him!  Marc published his September 2024 autobiography, "D'ici à Là" and has just followed it up with his first novel; Escalating Fury. 

    Watch for Zack Power adventures to continue in Dormant Fury (2026 release) and Resurging Fury (2027).

    As a final note, our friend Phil Gurski interviewed Marc La Ferrière in 2024 after the release of D'ici à Là.  You can listen to the interview on Phil's podcast by clicking right here.

    Available at Librairie Louis-Frechette and other locations
    E-Book / Paperback

    Escalating Fury by Marc La Ferrière


    Marc La Ferriere's Escalating Fury, the inaugural volume in a new series of high-octane espionage and adventure novellas, is a propulsive and adrenaline-fueled debut that immediately grabs the reader and refuses to let go. Spanning multiple continents and iconic global settings—from the shadowy streets of London, Moscow, and Vienna to operational zones in Germany and Middle East—La Ferrière crafts an intricate web of international intrigue set in the volatile days preceding the rise of the ubiquitous internet.

    At the center of this geopolitical whirlwind is Zack Power, a spy-extraordinaire and highly efficient operative. Power, along with his elite team, is employed by the clandestine, multinational outfit known only as Zenith. Their mission is simple yet deadly: to locate, neutralize, and make short work of the world’s most dangerous players and their nefarious intentions. The action is unrelenting, and the narrative moves at a breakneck speed, catapulting the Zenith team through the Middle East in a race against time and terror. La Ferrière masterfully engages these operations, delivering a constant stream of crisp dialogue, sharp tradecraft, and visceral action sequences.

    Escalating Fury distinguishes itself as a brief yet utterly immersive read. It is effortless to devour, thanks to its tightly plotted structure and unceasing momentum. Devotees of classic espionage thrillers, particularly the works of genre titans like Robert Ludlum, will find much to appreciate in the familiar, urgent rhythm of the plot and the focus on globe-trotting clandestine operations. The author successfully channels the golden age of spy fiction, delivering a compelling narrative without sacrificing pace or deep description.

    While the story is largely dominated by thrilling action, La Ferrière includes a single, rather steamy romance scene that adds a layer of depth and humanity to the otherwise hardened characters. Beyond this specific interlude, the novella’s focus on ethical clarity in combating global "baddies" makes it a surprisingly suitable introduction to the espionage-assassin genre for young adult readers seeking thrilling international adventure.

    If asked to distill the essence of this novella into a single word, it would undeniably be "Rollicking!" Escalating Fury is a promising start to the series, leaving readers breathless and eagerly anticipating Zack Power's next high-stakes mission.

    Escalating Fury

    Escalating Fury, le premier tome d'une nouvelle série de romans courts mêlant espionnage et aventure, est un premier ouvrage haletant et riche en adrénaline qui captive immédiatement le lecteur et ne le lâche plus. Couvrant plusieurs continents et des lieux emblématiques à travers le monde, des rues sombres de Londres, Moscou et Vienne aux zones opérationnelles en Allemagne et au Moyen-Orient, La Ferrière tisse une toile complexe d'intrigues internationales qui se déroule dans la période instable précédant l'avènement de l'omniprésence d'Internet.

    Au centre de ce tourbillon géopolitique se trouve Zack Power, un espion extraordinaire et un agent hautement efficace. Power, avec son équipe d'élite, est employé par une organisation clandestine multinationale connue uniquement sous le nom de Zenith. Leur mission est simple mais mortelle : localiser, neutraliser et éliminer les acteurs les plus dangereux du monde et leurs intentions néfastes. L'action est implacable et le récit avance à un rythme effréné, propulsant l'équipe Zenith à travers le Moyen-Orient dans une course contre la montre et le terrorisme. La Ferrière mène ces opérations de main de maître, offrant un flux constant de dialogues vifs, de techniques d'espionnage pointues et de séquences d'action viscérales.

    Escalating Fury se distingue comme un livre court mais totalement immersif. Il se dévore sans effort, grâce à sa structure rigoureuse et à son élan incessant. Les amateurs de thrillers d'espionnage classiques, en particulier les œuvres de titans du genre comme Robert Ludlum, apprécieront le rythme familier et urgent de l'intrigue et l'accent mis sur les opérations clandestines à travers le monde. L'auteur réussit à recréer l'âge d'or de la fiction d'espionnage, offrant un récit captivant sans sacrifier le rythme ni la profondeur des descriptions.

    Si l'histoire est largement dominée par l'action palpitante, La Ferrière inclut une seule scène romantique plutôt torride qui ajoute une touche de profondeur et d'humanité à des personnages par ailleurs endurcis. Au-delà de cet intermède spécifique, l'accent mis par la nouvelle sur la clarté éthique dans la lutte contre les « méchants » mondiaux en fait une introduction étonnamment appropriée au genre de l'espionnage et de l'assassinat pour les jeunes lecteurs adultes en quête d'aventures internationales palpitantes.

    Si l'on devait résumer l'essence de cette nouvelle en un seul mot, ce serait sans aucun doute « endiablé » ! Escalating Fury est un début prometteur pour la série, laissant les lecteurs haletants et impatients de découvrir la prochaine mission à haut risque de Zack Power.

    _________________

    Editor's Note: Feedback / comments are always welcome.  

    Please feel free to forward your comments directly to thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com

    About the book:
    Escalating Fury
    by Marc La Ferrière
    Portfolio: 132 pages. 25.00 (Paperback)
    Publication Date: November , 2025


    About the Author: Marc La Ferrière

    Marc Laferrière is a native Montrealer who joined CSIS as an Intelligence Officer in the late 1980s, where he worked on a variety of counterintelligence and countertereorism investigations as well as a myriad of other national security tasks, both at the working level and in management. He retired as Chief of Internal Security in Ottawa after thirty years of service to Canada. He is the author of D’Ici À Là; an autobiography and has just published his first novel; Escalating Fury.

    Biography Credit: Phil Gurski / Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting


    Disclaimer:     Articles are chosen for relevance and circulated for information only. Views expressed are those of the respective journalists / authors / reviewers. Republication does not infer endorsement.

    Avertissement : Les articles sont choisis pour leur pertinence et sont diffusés à titre d'information seulement. Les opinions exprimées sont celles des journalistes / auteurs / réviseurs respectifs. La republication n'implique pas d'approbation.


  • The Beaver and the Dragon: How China Out-Manoeuvred Canada’s Diplomacy, Security, and Sovereignty by Charles Burton

    November 16, 2025 9:55 AM | Anonymous

    THe Beaver and the Dragon: How China Out-Manoeuvred Canada’s Diplomacy, Security, and Sovereignty
    by Charles Burton
    Edited by Kevin Cavanagh
    October 22, 2025
    Publisher: Optimum Publishing International
    The Beaver and the Dragon: How China Out-Manoeuvred Canada’s Diplomacy, Security, and Sovereignty
    by Charles Burton
    Edited by     Kevin Cavanagh

    For decades, Canada believed it could gently shape China into a responsible global actor through diplomacy, commerce, and cultural exchange. But as this clear-eyed, searing account reveals, it was China that ended up reshaping us. In The Beaver and The Dragon, acclaimed sinologist Charles Burton takes readers inside Canada’s most fateful geopolitical miscalculation. Drawing on a lifetime of engagement ― from dorm rooms at Fudan University to behind-closed-doors diplomacy in Beijing ― Burton chronicles China’s strategic ascent and the naïveté that allowed it to happen within Canada's political and corporate boardrooms.

    From Tiananmen Square to hostage diplomacy, this book captures the history we lived through but failed to understand that has allowed China and Beijing's authoritarian model to quitely infiltrate all of Canada's institutions including the halls of parliament. These essays, written in real time across four Canadian governments, expose the illusions of engagement and the emergence of an authoritarian power that seeks to dominate the 21st century at democracy's expense.

    The essays combined with his new insights expose the sharp power tactics and global ambitions that define Xi Jinping’s China and how Canada has become a proving ground for its totalitarian ambitions. But Burton also leaves us with a challenge ― and a hope ― that democratic resilience can reclaim the future.

    His solution for Canadian policy makers and businesses is to understand that China is not interested in friendship for Win-Win trade but rather total dominance and global hegemony at the expense of our nation. With those lessons learned engagement must be about every element of the Chinese regimes internal and external policy dynamics.

    Indigo / Amazon 

    Reviews:

    Charles Burton is without question one of the world’s foremost China specialist. A former colleague, he has spent decades tirelessly warning about China’s long game. His analyses often read with the intensity and suspense of a thriller writer. I hold him in the highest regard. -- Nathalie Vogel ― Research Fellow, Center for Intermarium Studies 
    See also:

    I’ve spent 50 years navigating Canada-China relations. Here’s what I’ve learned op-ed by Charles Burton as published in The Globe and Mail  -  October 17, 2025

    About the book: 
    The Beaver and the Dragon: How China Out-Manoeuvred Canada’s Diplomacy, Security, and Sovereignty
    by Charles Burton
    Edited by Kevin Cavanagh
    Optimum Publishing International - 264 pages 21.12 (Paperback)
    Publication Date: October 22, 2025


    About the Author: Charles Burton


    Charles Burton is a distinguished Canadian sinologist and senior fellow at Sinopsis, a Prague-based research platform focused on China's influence in global democratic systems. A longtime professor of political science at Brock University, Burton has specialized in comparative politics, Confucian political philosophy, and the evolving dynamics of Canada-China relations. He studied at Cambridge University before leaving for Fudan University in Shanghai, where he was among the first Canadian scholars embedded in China's academic system following the Cultural Revolution.

    Burton's career includes diplomatic service at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, where he advised on Communist Party communications and strategic developments. As a columnist and commentator, his analyses have appeared in The Globe and Mail, National Post, The Toronto Star, and international outlets. Fluent in Mandarin and deeply versed in Chinese political culture, Burton brings unmatched insight into the ideology, tactics, and global ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party.
    Biography Credit:  Black Bond Books


    About the Author: Kevin Cavanagh
     

    Kevin Cavanagh is an editor and former senior executive at Postmedia Network Inc., Canada's largest print and digital newspaper publisher. Over his 35-year career, he held leadership roles in some of the country's most influential newsrooms, directing coverage on national politics, foreign affairs, and public accountability. Cavanaugh's editorial expertise helps bring clarity and cohesion to complex geopolitical narratives, making him an essential voice in shaping this book's structure and public engagement.
    Biography Credit:  Black Bond Books
    À propos du livre :
    Le castor et le dragon : comment la Chine a surpassé le Canada en matière de diplomatie, de sécurité et de souveraineté
    par Charles Burton
    Édité par Kevin Cavanagh
    Optimum Publishing International - 264 pages 21,12 (broché)
    Date de publication : 22 octobre 2025

    Book Review / Revue de livres 
    Disclaimer: Articles are chosen for relevance and circulated for information only. Views expressed are those of the respective journalists / authors. Republication does not infer endorsement.
    Book Review Editor: Ralph Mahar - Suggestions for Book Reviews will be gratefully received at thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com
    Avertissement : Les articles sont choisis pour leur pertinence et sont diffusés à titre d'information seulement. Les opinions exprimées sont celles des journalistes/auteurs respectifs. La republication n'implique pas d'approbation. 
    Rédacteur en chef des critiques de livres : Ralph Mahar - Les suggestions de critiques de livres sont les bienvenues à l'adresse suivante : thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com



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