A brisk and rousting journey through the nations on the Indian Ocean, from east Africa to Indonesia. masterful and well crafted, based on history and personal familiarity. The grace of this work is that the chpters are focused and concise. A number of elegant maps. A great work! ( )

The Indian ocean and the future of American Power

An interesting analysis of how the whole region straddled by the Indian Ocean and home to nearly 25% of humanity (50% if you include china) will evolve vis a vis the ascendary of the two primary powers in this region, India and China. The outlook is generally bright across the board barring the dark clouds brought on by the vagaries of two failed states, Somalia and Pakistan.

An interesting analysis of how the whole region straddled by the Indian Ocean and home to nearly 25% of humanity (50% if you include china) will evolve vis a vis the ascendary of the two primary powers in this region, India and China. The outlook is generally bright across the board barring the dark clouds brought on by the vagaries of two failed states, Somalia and Pakistan.

This interesting book is several things: part travelogue, part history, part geo-politics and geo-economics. And, the author puts it all together in an informative and engaging way.

India, China and the other countries who rely on the Indian Ocean and South China Sea for trade and transport are examined in this book. It is clear that Mr. Kaplan has done a lot of reserach, and spent time visiting all the places he talks about. He displays a deep understanding of the cultures and realities of the people he writes about. I learned a lot about this part of the world. Some of the themes explored were how Islam took different forms when it arrived via traders vs. crusaders; how social institutions are needed to support governance models, especially democracy; how China provides economic development assistance in search of access without preaching about human rights; how so much trade depends on two or three narrow straits. The one topic I thought wasn't fully explored was the subtitle: what all this means for American power.

I was able to reflect on parallels to Canada's system of Indian reserves, our insistence that foreign aid be linked to human rights, how some issues become social causes while other similar situations go virtually unheard of.

A great introduction to this part of the world. I hope I am now better able to put current events in a context. ( )