• Us vs. Them

  • The Failure of Globalism
  • By: Ian Bremmer
  • Narrated by: Willis Sparks
  • Length: 5 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (370 ratings)

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Us vs. Them  By  cover art

Us vs. Them

By: Ian Bremmer
Narrated by: Willis Sparks
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Publisher's summary

From Ian Bremmer, the acclaimed Time columnist, Eurasia Group president, and expert consultant on global risk, comes a definitive guide to navigating the dangers of the age of populism.

From Brexit in the UK, to Donald Trump in the US, to extremist parties in Europe and the developing world, populism has dominated recent headlines. What explains this rise of leaders who stoke nationalist anger in their countries, from Le Pen to Erdogan? How long will the populist wave last? Who will be the winners and losers in this climate, and how can we defend the values of democracy, free trade, and international cooperation?

No one is better suited to explore these questions than Ian Bremmer, who has built his career on assessing global risk for his clients, and explaining complex political dynamics in accessible terms in publications such as Time. He explains the social, economic, and technological forces fueling this new wave of populism and why we're witnessing a rejection of the democratic, global cosmopolitan trends of the late 20th century.

Bremmer argues that, much like climate change, the rise of populism around the world is inevitable, likely to spread wider and worsen over the coming decade. But despite this bleak assessment, he also sees a light at the end of the tunnel. This audiobook offers a guide to navigating the shifting political landscape and weathering the populist storm.

©2018 Ian Bremmer (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“The best book yet on the waves Donald Trump rode to power. Ian Bremmer is right that rage and scorn are not plans. He provides good practical ideas for what can be done.” (Lawrence Summers, professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and former director or the National Economic Council)

“My favorite thinker on geopolitics offers a masterful analysis of why globalism crashed and populism has soared. This book won’t just help you predict the future of nations; it will play a role in shaping that future.” (Adam Grant, author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg)

"Once again, Ian Bremmer provides a striking preview of tomorrow's top stories. A timely warning, but also a source of hope, Us vs. Them is required reading for those worried about our world’s future." (Nouriel Roubini, author of Crisis Economics; professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business; chairman of Roubini Macro Associates)

What listeners say about Us vs. Them

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    1 out of 5 stars

Severely Anti-Trump Praised George Soros....

What would have made Us vs. Them better?

Don’t sell it as antonglobalism if it’s just anti Trump

Has Us vs. Them turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I like objective books. This is scammy how it bills itself.

What about Willis Sparks’s performance did you like?

Great reader, good voice

What character would you cut from Us vs. Them?

The author....

Any additional comments?

Agree or disagree with the content, the book starts off presenting itself as objective and turns more and more into a progressive big govt infomercial. It’s basically a postmortem for the trump election, but the analysis is more of sales pitch for progressivism than an objective take. He makes many assumptions and presents them as facts, very misleading and reaks of Kevin Tredau pitching kitchen knives...

It’s he worst kind of “fake information” he whole book cherry picks facts and presents itself as objective when it is quietly agenda driven. The great irony is that it addresses this as a major isssue in news media but ignore he plank in its own eye... save your money and you 5 hours.

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13 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not Very Original

This book should be common sense to anyone born within the past 40 years. It also doesn’t go into depth at all about any of the topics it covers. It’s basically an extended TV news interview.

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9 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good book with a big blind spot

Felt it was a very well written, concise overview of Bremmer's highly informed worldview. Excellent narration also. Very worthwhile for anyone interested in what's going on around the world in 2018 and what is likely to start happening soon. Not sure why so many struggle to grasp the insights he brings to bear. They're so straightforward when you see them!

That said, I think the exclusion of the militarism that is helping precipitate the current situation should have been addressed. Makes me significantly less enthusiastic about recommending it.

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7 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Scary view of the world we live in and what’s to come.

Full of very interesting facts and some great insight into global politics. But I could have done without the Trump bashing. Interesting how you can write about how bad the rest of the world is and still dislike Trump so much.

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4 people found this helpful

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Waste of time

Learned nothing. Much pontificating and hypothesizing without substance. A veiled political mantra with no substance

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3 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Supports Anti-Globalism how?

Hey lets blame Republicans and Trump. Totally balanced, lol, blames the right for racial decide, obviously doesn't know the history of the progressive left. Good thing there aren't any bigots on the left Margaret Sanger, Al Sharpton, Louis Farakan to name just a few. He speaks with the typical arrogance of a quasi-intellectual, brainwashed, indoctrinated, talking point regurgitating Tool.

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting analysis of our times, but depressing

Full of troublesome facts, like a majority of Republicans would support delaying the 2020 elections, if Trump wanted to. Like there are twice as many working age men in America not working as are working and half of them take painkillers everyday. Like the majority of young people would support a government run by the military. And these trends are worldwide. Thoroughly depressing. Makes me even more worried about my grandchildren’s future.

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2 people found this helpful

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  • FL
  • 05-05-18

well written propaganda aimed to advance a prefere

Heavily one sided, clever way to propagate an agenda. Deepens divisiveness. "Them" don't read.
"The survival of the fittest"

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Shallow and sensational

Not worth anyone's time or money, this book offers opinions (surface level ideas) instead of facts but pretends it's presenting the latter. No historical or other context, just here-and-now account of things that dives no deeper than just going with the motions but clothes itself in bombastic language. Truly depressing, how little actual substance can pass for a title these days

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent observations and evaluation.

Great read. unbiased and intelligent. Narration is superior. A must for every American in this age of uncertainty.

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