May 17, 2025 | View in Browser

Sponsored by Oxford University Press

Works in Progress

Yesterday’s Economic Thinking Can’t Solve Today’s Economic Problems

By Cecilia Elena Rouse

A Foreign Affairs subscription is less than $3.50/month.

Subscribe today.

The Great Transformation: China’s Road From Revolution to Reform

Westad and Chen deliver a lively account of Chinese history from the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949 through the first decades of economic reform in the 1980s and 1990s.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Economy

An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence

Badawi brilliantly connects different parts of Africa into a common historical timeline, highlighting conflicts, trade, flows of ideas, and other interactions that knit the continent together.

Reviewed by Ken Opalo

Advertisement: Oxford University Press

Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for the Perplexed

Revealing the unfolding story of Artificial Intelligence, Richard Susskind presents a short non-technical guide that challenges us to think differently about AI. Susskind brings AI out of computing laboratories, big tech companies, and start-ups - and into everyday life.

Read more

Cover Image of ''How to Think About AI'' by Richard Susskind

From Jihad to Politics: How Syrian Jihadis Embraced Politics

Completed before the spectacular collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, Drevon’s insightful book provides a detailed portrait of the jihadi opposition force that would take over the country.

Reviewed by Lisa Anderson

Vatican Spies: From the Second World War to Pope Francis

Denoël packs an extraordinary and at times overwhelming amount of detail into this enthralling history of espionage and intrigue surrounding the papacy since the start of World War II.

Reviewed by Lawrence D. Freedman

Fabricating Homeland Security: Police Entanglements Across India and Palestine/Israel