Colin Kahl Livres

Two leading national security experts provide a definitive account of COVID-19's global impact and its political repercussions for the United States and the 21st-century world order. The pandemic resulted in millions of deaths and hundreds of millions of infections, exposing vulnerabilities and inequalities in our interconnected world. The economic fallout was the worst since the Great Depression, with the IMF estimating a loss of over $22 trillion in global wealth. Progress made in reducing extreme poverty over two decades was reversed in mere months, further destabilizing already fragile states. The tensions between the U.S. and China escalated, and the global struggle between democracy and authoritarianism intensified. This crisis demanded a collective international response, yet cooperation largely failed, with world leaders often at odds. The authors offer a riveting account of this unprecedented year, drawing on interviews with global officials and extensive research. They illustrate how nationalism and power rivalries hampered responses to the worst pandemic in a century, revealing the limitations of the existing international order and foreshadowing the long-lasting effects of COVID-19.

Towards the end of the American Civil War in 1863, Sergeant Zack Jackson, a black Confederate soldier, wakes up after a battle in Virginia, in a field full of his dead comrades, and he sees a hand held up in the middle of all the dead bodies. On further investigation, a dying soldier hands him a wallet, with both monies, his home address, and the deeds of a map of his claim to a gold mine. He requests, with his dying wish, that Zack takes the contents to his wife and family and to eventually go and find the gold mine. He then dies of his wounds. Zack, also gravely wounded, sets off to find the dead soldier's home but collapses along the way. Isaac, a young 11-year-old Jewish boy, finds him and manages to take him back to his parents' home where they look after him until he is fully recovered. Zack, fully refreshed, goes to find the dead soldier's wife and hands her the wallet. She thanks him for his courage and honesty and agrees for him to search for the mine. Together with Isaac and his dog, they begin their journey through the dangerous terrain of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Unknown to them, they were being followed by an outlawed gang of Chinese immigrants, who had overheard their plans. They eventually manage to find the mine, but it is not what they expected. Ancient settlers from various Red Indian tribes appear and create havoc, and the two heroes are tasked with unbelievable struggles to save their own lives.