'An extremely impressive book . . . It is a very long time since a leading British politician produced anything so ambitious, or as well written' John Gray, Guardian At the start of the twenty-first century, the challenges the world faces seem bewilderingly complex. Gone are the old assurances about the triumph of the West and the free market. But what will take their place? Here Chris Patten draws on his many years at the highest levels of international affairs to tackle the big questions of our time - from financial turmoil to the energy crisis, immigration to the ascendancy of the East - offering a wise, witty and surprisingly optimistic account of the world today. 'Chris Patten is the best Foreign Secretary Britain never had . . . An encyclopaedia of good sense . . . Every thinker on, or practitioner of, international affairs will profit from reading any book that Patten writes' Denis Macshane, Independent 'Compelling . . . If only more world statesmen were like Chris Patten' John Kampfner, Observer 'Entertaining and wide-ranging . . . part history, part opinionated guidebook' Simon Robinson, Time Magazine 'A brilliant tour d'horizon of a fragmenting world' Christopher Coker, The Times Literary Supplement