Incredibly insightful for people not too familiar with history/politics. Loved the author’s opinion of the west and its auto-pertinence in comparison to the contribution other countries have made in health, technology, politics and philosophy. Also, I really enjoyed the realistic view of a future decline of the west will be, they are objectively informing on what could happen. In doing so they are emphatically saying that we do not know if things are going to be okay, but similar events have happened in the past and it has lead us to today. Back to my point, maybe we will be okay regardless of the fall of the west, or maybe not. After reading this I will consider being more hopeful.

Regarding the audio, the narrator had an amazing voice. I rate it 4 stars because I expected more novel information and the chronology was a bit hard to follow.

I listened to an advanced readers edition of the audiobook, courtesy of NetGalley and Hatchette Audio. All opinions shared in this review are my own and I was not paid for my review.

Right off the bat, the cover and title of this book are striking. The reader is presented with a bold premise through the stark bold lettering of the title, underscored by a vivid school bus yellow background, which to me signifies a message of education, possible warning, and also positivity. I was intrigued, while also a bit fearful: The Once and Future World Order, sounds so foreboding! Yet my curiosity won out, and I was hooked with the subtitle: Why Global Civilization Will Survive the Decline of the West.

Amitav Acharya put a lot into this book. While I am glad I listened to the audiobook, I am tempted to purchase a physical copy for future reference. There was so much material provided in the course of 400+ pages, i.e. 14 audiobook hours, I feel like I need to see it in print in order to absorb all that it is offering. That being said, I am glad I listened to the book before reading, because it is dense and being able to digest it in smaller pieces made it easier for me to follow.

The expanse of history covered in this book was not only across all populated continents throughout human history, but also included context into societies such as their religious and moral belief systems. It gave me so much more to process than a cursory overview of only Western civilization. Too often, the focus of Western history is to fixate on history from the last few centuries; it sometimes includes a glimpse at Greek and or Roman Empire, but often overlooks ancient and modern societies including Egyptian, Incan, Indian, Chinese, and African. Acharya does not do this! He takes his time in what feels like a series of essays, to outline different societies, their values, and how their people worked copacetically with one another and surrounding civilizations throughout history. He shares what each society did well, and also what they struggled with.

I think it is easy as a Western reader to be disheartened by the news that the West may be in decline, however Acharya provides an honest outlook and describes what he sees as an opportunity for global civilization to rise. Change is inevitable, and does not have to be seen as irrevocable or without hope. We too, in the West, have a chance to evaluate where we came from and where we are going, which I think is worth listening to and considering. I would recommend this book, especially to those who might be concerned about the direction of Democracy, or what could come next.

Pacing:
The audiobook took me about a week to listen to at a speed between 1.25-1.75, listening to one or two chapters at a time. The narrator, Fajer Al-Kaisi, provided a calming yet animated voice. His speech was never monotone, and he offered varied pitch and intensity as he read. The narrator kept me listening, he never seemed to drone on, which was good, because I could see the slew of information coming into my ears as being something that could make me zone out if I was not properly engaged. His enunciation of words was clear, and I felt like his speech was easy to discern.

Feedback for the publisher:
I noticed the word hegemony used frequently; nothing is wrong with the word, but as a nitpick, when I hear a word used often it stands out and I wonder if there are other words that could be used to provide variety in listening (or reading on the page).

The audiobook on NetGalley did not have chapter titles, only numbers with which to navigate. I do hope that the physical book and published audiobook contain either a table of contents or index for readers to cross-reference topics of interest, since there is a lot of material to navigate. Thank you for the opportunity to listen and review this book prior to its publication. I do hope that my review garners interest in the book and helps promote its sales and spread in popularity.

I'm a history geek, so I appreciated the author's walk through time, describing the various civilizations that grew so big they were empires, and then the subsequent fall, being replaced by a new civilization. The history lessons was good but dry in its execution. I mean, the author is talking about the some of the greatest civilizations--ever--so I expected to be more wowed than I was.

I remember reading about the fall of the Roman Empire in elementary and high school, yet I could never understand how they failed. There have been many times over the years where I have reacted to something going on in the United States and thought, "this is how the fall of the Roman Empire started." And right now, it feels that way in spades. Which is what the second part of The Once and Future World Order focuses on

And while I connected to some of this book, I really felt like it was two books in one: the past and the current state of affairs. I don't think anyone that's studied history or taken economics in college would argue with the thesis of this book, just that the execution could have been better.

I think this book could have easily been divided into two parts: one focusing on the history of major civilizations, their rise and fall, and a separate story dedicated to how we came to live in today’s world order.
If that was the case, I’d say the first ‘book’ failed in much the same way as some of the civilizations it described — it was rushed, trying to cover thousands of years in just a few short chapters, leaving little that stuck with me. Clearly, an author aimed to include only the most relevant aspects for the ideas that followed, but the information was too sparse to be truly informative. I was left with many unanswered questions, particularly regarding the history of the Americas. Since I’m interested in the topic, I’ll definitely be seeking out additional sources to fill in the gaps.
That said, the book improves significantly as it shifts toward modern history. The clear explanations of imperialism, the rise of the Western world order, and US path to the world dominance - all this is well-executed, well structured and in details explained.