WACHH BoOK CLUB
The Book Club is the newest addition to the World Affairs Council of Hilton Head (WACHH) program offerings. The Book Club presents an opportunity for us all to learn more broadly and deeply about both world affairs and domestic politics, to engage in stimulating discussions, and to make new friendships.
The Book Club is free and open to all WACHH members, but registration is required. Registration for each book club discussion will open one month in advance and is limited to 30 participants. The Book Club will meet the second Thursday of each month from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at The Island Rec Center Board Room, 20 Wilborn Rd, Hilton Head Island (next to the High school).
Download the WACHH Book Club Flyer for more information (PDF)
December 9, 2021
War: How Conflict Changed Us
by Margaret MacMillan“[A] richly eclectic discussion of how culture and society have been molded by warfare throughout history . . . showing us not just the many ways that men and women make war, but how war makes women and men . . . MacMillan writes with enormous ease, and practically every page of this book is interesting, even entertaining. . ..” Dexter Filkins, The New York Times Book Review
War: How Conflict Shaped Us reveals the many faces of war—the way it has determined our past, our future, our views of the world, and our very conception of ourselves. It explores such much-debated and controversial questions as: When did war first start? Does human nature doom us to fight one another? Why has war been described as the most organized of all human activities? Why are warriors almost always men? Is war ever within our control? Registration is open now (members only).
How Democracies Die
by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt“[Levitsky and Ziblatt] bring to bear useful global and historical context . . . [showing] the mistakes democratic politicians make as they let dangerous demagogues into the heart of power.” — The Sunday Times
“A powerful wake-up call.” — Foreign Affairs
Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have spent more than twenty years studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America. Drawing on a wide range of historical and global examples, they demonstrate how democracy no longer ends with a bang—in a revolution or military coup—but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions, such as the judiciary and the press, and the gradual erosion of long-standing political norms. They also share the good news that there are several exit ramps on the road to authoritarianism. Registration will open a month in advance (members only).
February 10, 2022
Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry Than Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East
by Kim Ghattas“An essential account of the ideologies that have shaped the region ” — Guardian
Kim Ghattas delivers a gripping account of the largely unexplored story of the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, born from the sparks of the 1979 Iranian revolution and fueled by American policy. She explores how Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, once allies and twin pillars of US strategy in the region, became mortal enemies after 1979. She shows how they used and distorted religion in a competition that went well beyond geopolitics. Ghattas also introduces us to a riveting cast of characters whose lives were upended by the geopolitical drama over four decades. Registration will open a month in advance (members only).
March 10, 2022
Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism
by Ian Bremmer“Required reading to help repair a world in pieces and build a world at peace.” — António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General
In his eye-opening book, Ian Bremmer shows how the promise that globalization would create a world of winners has been shattered as those who've paid the price for globalism's gains have turned to populist and nationalist politicians to express fury at those they blame for their losses. They've begun to understand the world as a battle for the future that pits "us" vs. "them." This book is about the ways in which people will define the threats they face as fights for survival. It's about the walls governments will build to protect insiders from outsiders and the state from its people. And it's about what we can do about it. Registration will open a month in advance (members only).
Past Book Club Selections
September 9, 2021: The Room Where it Happened: A White House Memoir by John Bolton
October 14, 2021: The New Map: Energy, Climate And The Clash Of Nations by Daniel Yergin
November 11, 2021: After the Fall: Being American in the World We’ve Made by Ben Rhodes
World Affairs Council of Hilton HeadPO Box 22523
Hilton Head Island, SC 29925 843-384-6758 | wachhi@gmail.com |
