Excerpts

“How to Win a Cosmic War” is both an in-depth study of the ideology fueling Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and like-minded militants throughout the Muslim world, and an exploration of religious violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Surveying the global scene from Israel to Iraq and from New York to the Netherlands, Aslan argues that religion is a stronger force today than it has been in a century. At a time when religion and politics are increasingly sharing the same vocabulary and functioning in the same sphere, Aslan writes that we must...

Historic shifts have provided an opportunity for the world to move from the tutelage of the sole superpower, America, to a multi-polar global order, one where America’s moral, economic, and military leadership will be profoundly challenged. What form will this world resemble? What are the perils and promises of this new power order? In After Empire, Dilip Hiro provides a realistic, challenging, and nuanced look at the emerging power politics of the coming century and considers how they are going to turn our world upside-down.

Laws can include or exclude, protect or harm. Nationalist retentionist cultural-property laws have failed to protect antiquities and the human record, argues James Cuno, president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago. Instead of encouraging the collection of all artifacts and displaying the historical evidence for all to observe and analyze, some nations use their power to control the narrative, selecting pieces that support their claim to power. All global citizens have a right to view ancient artifacts, regardless of where they...