The World Next Week: Summer Reading Special

In this special edition, CFR.org Managing Editor Robert McMahon, CFR's Director of Studies Jim Lindsay and Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow Elizabeth Saunders start off the summer with a list of books that they will be reading in the weeks ahead. Listen in for recommendations from their reading lists.

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Hosts
  • James M. Lindsay
    Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
  • Elizabeth N. Saunders
    Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, and Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University
  • Robert McMahon
    Managing Editor

Show Notes

In this special edition, CFR.org Managing Editor Robert McMahon, CFR's Director of Studies Jim Lindsay and Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow Elizabeth Saunders start off the summer with a list of books that they will be reading in the weeks ahead. Listen in for recommendations from their reading lists.

 

Elizabeth's books:

Anxious Politics: Democratic Citizenship in a Threatening World, by Bethany Albertson and Shana Kushner Gadarian

Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars, by Nathalia Holt

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race, by Margot Lee Shetterly

Finale: A Novel of the Reagan Years, by Thomas Mallon


Robert's books:

Pumpkin Flowers: A Soldier’s Story, by Matti Friedman 

One Child: The Story of China’s Most Radical Experiment, by Mei Fong 

Rome 1960: The Olympics that Changed the World, by David Maraniss
 

Jim's books:

Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam, by Fredrik Logevall

The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins

Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, by Mary Norris 

Nigeria

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his opponent Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu face off in Turkey’s runoff election; U.S. government leaders contend with a looming deadline to avoid a disastrous default; president-elect Bola Tinubu is sworn in as Nigeria contends with an economic crisis; Evan Gershkovich’s pre-trial detention is extended; and Sudan struggles to find a lasting solution to the conflict between the military and a paramilitary group, exacerbating its humanitarian crisis. 

Syria

The Arab League summit marks the return of Syria and its president, Bashar al-Assad; Japan hosts the leaders of the Group of Seven democracies in Hiroshima, Japan, with concerns over China and Russia at the fore; the UN Security Council discusses sanctions on North Korea amid the country’s missile buildup; and migration slows at the southern U.S. border after the lifting of Title 42.

Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan faces off with opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in Turkey’s presidential election; Thais vote in their first general election since 2019; the Black Sea grain deal faces possible expiration; international film makers step forward at the Cannes Film Festival; and Ukraine fends off Russia’s recent drone attack.

Top Stories on CFR

 

Sudan

As armed conflict rages on, Sudan’s devastating humanitarian crisis continues to worsen. More than one million people could flee to neighboring countries, threatening regional upheaval.

Diamonstein-Spielvogel Project on the Future of Democracy