World on the Brink

A leading national security expert, who publicly predicted Vladimir Putin's intention to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine months before it took place, lays out the case for why China's Xi Jinping is preparing to conquer Taiwan in the coming years and the dire stakes for America and the whole world if he is not deterred.

In World on the Brink, security expert Dmitri Alperovitch makes the case that we are already in the midst of Cold War II, with China, and that Taiwan is the perilous strategic flashpoint of this new conflict that risks triggering a devastating war between major nuclear powers in a similar role that West Berlin nearly played during Cold War I.

Laying out the comprehensive strategy to deter war and maintain U.S. place as the world's leading superpower in the face of rising China, Alperovitch breaks down not only the significant weaknesses that can prevent China from surpassing the United States, but also the key policies that will enable America to maintain primacy even as China ramps up its efforts.

As Alperovitch explains, we must play to our strengths and address our weaknesses, using our leverage as the strongest nation on the planet to tactfully navigate the next Cold War. This sharp, timely book is the essential blueprint for doing just that.

"A breezy and mercifully jargon-light book and an excellent source for the layman. Dmitri Alperovitch, chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, a think-tank in Washington, and Garrett Graff, a journalist, neatly sketch the relevant history and current predicament, quote intelligently from a range of top 'China hands' and suggest a number of prescriptions... This book's biggest contribution is that it also proposes a single goal for American policy, which is deceptively simple: America should just play for time."
--The Economist
"World on the Brink serves as an alarm bell. It successfully highlights aspects of Sino-American competition that have long been overlooked by policymakers -- for example, the significance of rare earth metals and critical minerals. Better still, it does so engagingly, which is no mean feat given the technical and hypothetical and jargon-laden way these discussions usually are written about."--Washington Examiner
"An important book that stands apart from much of the current writing (and posturing) on China by its lack of hype, a clear exploration of the challenge China poses, and practical and well considered policy options... In the upcoming election, regardless of who wins, there will be changes (perhaps wholesale) in the national security team and whoever those people are - they would do well to spend time reading this book."
--Cipher Brief
"A thorough investigation of 'America's top foreign policy challenge'...Deeply insightful advice for the coming decades."--Kirkus Reviews

"World on the Brink is a clear-eyed analysis of Cold War II and a game plan for winning it. Provocative and insightful, this is essential reading for understanding the American-made world order and the threats it faces."

--CHRIS MILLER, New York Times-bestselling author of Chip War

"An urgent, thought-provoking warning about one of the biggest challenges facing America today. A must-read on the most important issue in the world!"

--GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS, US Army (ret.), former director of the CIA

"Deeply researched and provocative, this is a powerful call to arms for Washington's policy makers and a must-read for anyone watching global affairs, the twenty-first-century tech sector, and international business."

--GILLIAN TETT, columnist and editorial board, Financial Times

"The stakes of Cold War II could not be greater. Alperovitch, one of our nation's foremost experts on technology and national security, has skillfully crafted a game plan for freedom to once again be the victor. This is a book that needs to be read by all Americans."

--REP. MIKE GALLAGHER, chairman, Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party

"This is the first book to read if you want to understand the geopolitical landscape, what choices must be made, and how that will impact all of us."

--JAMES LITINSKY, founder, chairman, and CEO of MP Materials

Dmitri Alperovitch is an internationally recognized thought leader on geopolitics and national security and co-founder and executive chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, a think-tank focused on policy solutions in national security, trade and industrial security, and ecological and economic security. He is also the co-founder of the leading cybersecurity company CrowdStrike Inc. Alperovitch serves on the Homeland Security Advisory Council of the Department of Homeland Security and as a founding board member of US Government's Cyber Safety Review Board, and has previously served as a special advisor to the Department of Defense. He is the host of Silverado's "Geopolitics Decanted" podcast.

Garrett M. Graff is a journalist and historian who has spent nearly two decades covering politics, technology, and national security. The former editor of POLITICO Magazine and a current contributor to WIRED and CNN, Graff also serves as the founding director of the Aspen Institute's cybersecurity program. He is the author of multiple books, including the New York Times bestseller The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11, and most recently Watergate: A New History.

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