Admiral Jim Stavridis, USN (Ret.) spent more than thirty years in
the US Navy, rising to the rank of four-star admiral. He was
Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and previously commanded US
Southern Command, overseeing military operations through Latin
America. At sea, he commanded a Navy destroyer, a destroyer
squadron, and an aircraft carrier battle group in combat. He holds
a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts
University, where he recently served five years as dean.He received
50 medals in the course of his military career, including 28 from
foreign nations.He has published nine previous books, including Sea
Power- The History and Geopolitics of the World's Oceans and
Sailing True North- Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character,and is
Chief International Analyst for NBC News and a contributing editor
of TIME Magazine. He is currently vice chairman, global affairs of
the Carlyle Group and chairman of the board of the Rockefeller
Foundation.
Elliot Ackerman is the author of The Fifth Act, Places and Names,
2034, Red Dress In Black and White, Waiting for Eden, Dark at the
Crossing, and Green on Blue. His books have been nominated for the
National Book Award, the Andrew Carnegie Medal in both fiction and
non-fiction, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize among others. His
writing often appears in Esquire, The New Yorker, and The New York
Times, and his stories have been included in The Best American
Short Stories and The Best American Travel Writing. He is both a
former White House Fellow and Marine, and served five tours of duty
in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received the Silver Star, the
Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart. He divides his time
between New York City and Washington, D.C.
“It is hard to write in great detail about what ensues in this
novel without giving away the drama of its denouement. Suffice it
to say that there is conflict and catastrophe on a large scale, and
it unfolds, as major conflicts tend to, with surprising twists and
turns . . . The strengths of the novel are anything but incidental
to the background of one of its authors, Adm. Stavridis, a former
destroyer and carrier strike group commander who retired from the
Navy in 2013 as NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. . .
. Adm. Stavridis not only understands how naval fleets work;
he has clearly given a great deal of thought to America’s biggest
strategic risks, and at the top of the list is war with China,
which, as this book seems designed to point out, could occur quite
by accident and at almost any time . .. One of the messages of this
book is that war is utterly unpredictable and that opportunist
adversaries of the U.S. are likely to play important roles in any
widening confrontation . . . 2034 is nonetheless full of warnings.
Foremost is that war with China would be folly, with no foreseeable
outcome and disaster for all. This is not a pessimistic book about
America’s potential, but the picture of the world it paints before
the central conflict will be a difficult one for many to accept,
albeit one well supported by facts.” —Wall Street Journal
“An unnerving and fascinating tale of a future . . . The book
serves as a cautionary tale to our leaders and national security
officials, while also speaking to a modern truth about arrogance
and our lack of strategic foresight . . . The novel is an enjoyable
and swiftly paced but important read.” —The Hill
“This crisply written and well-paced book reads like an all-caps
warning for a world shackled to the machines we carry in our
pockets and place on our laps, while only vaguely understanding how
the information stored in and shared by those devices can be
exploited. . . . In 2034, it’s as if Ackerman and Stavridis
want to grab us by our lapels, give us a slap or two, and scream:
Pay attention! George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece, Nineteen
Eighty-four: A Novel was published 35 years before 1984. Ackerman’s
and Stavridis’s book takes place in the not-so-distant future when
today’s high school military recruits will just be turning 30.”
—The Washington Post
“Stavridis and Ackerman have combined their talents—the former’s
detailed operational knowledge of military strategy and tactics and
the latter’s narrative skills—to come up with a realistic, detailed
and highly readable account of how the next world war might begin .
. . 2034 is thought-provoking reading for military and diplomatic
professionals dealing with China, and for the generalist concerned
with China’s rise. The scenario outlined by Stavridis and Ackerman
lends credence to recent calls for the US to strengthen its
military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific. It’s also a riveting
read.” —The Strategist (Australia)
“If you’re looking for a compelling beach read this summer, I
recommend the novel 2034.” —Thomas L. Friedman, The New York
Times
“Utterly engrossing . . . [2034] is incredibly well-written,
deeply thought-provoking, and it makes for uncomfortable and sober
reading—in the best of ways . . . .. . . There is also an
unexpected emotional rawness to the characters. This, in hindsight,
should not come as a surprise. Elliot Ackerman is one of the finest
writers to come out of this generation of military veterans and
officers . . . The pairing of Mr. Ackerman and Adm. Stavridis is
inspired. Both have military backgrounds as officers, both are
accomplished writers in their own right, and both complement each
other exceptionally well and have produced a fantastic work of
fiction. . . .This is a book that sets the pulse as well as the
mind racing but doesn’t let the reader off with a cheap or easy
thrill. It is sobering and chilling.” —Joshua Huminski, Diplomatic
Courier
“Consider this another vaccine against disaster. Fortunately,
this dose won't cause a temporary fever—and it happens to be a
rippingly good read. Turns out that even cautionary tales can be
exciting, when the future we’re most excited about is the one where
they never come true.” —Wired
“A frightening look at how a major-power showdown might race out of
control. . . . This compelling thriller should be required reading
for our national leaders and translated into Mandarin.” —Kirkus
(starred)
“Those seeking a realistic look at how a future world war might
play out will be rewarded.” —Publishers Weekly
“Chilling yet compulsively readable work of speculative fiction . .
. Ackerman and Stavridis have created a brilliantly executed
geopolitical tale that is impossible to put down and that serves as
a dire, all-too-plausible warning that recent events could have
catastrophic consequences.”—Booklist, starred review
“War with China is the most dangerous scenario facing us and the
world. Absent a strategic method to manage our differences, Jim
Stavridis and Elliot Ackerman’s chilling novel presents a realistic
series of miscalculations leading to the worst consequences. A
sobering, cautionary tale for our time.” —Jim Mattis, General, U.S.
Marines (Ret.) and 26th Secretary of Defense
“A brilliant thriller! Masterfully plotted and elegantly written,
2034 is a literary tour-de-force. Let’s just hope none of it comes
true.” —Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Near
Dark
“A real page-turner, 2034 is a novel about a conflict we hope never
happens. Drawing on their deep operational and diplomatic
backgrounds, Admiral Stavridis and Elliot Ackerman have conjured a
nightmare we desperately need to avoid. The novel is a cautionary
tale for our times, and a reminder how quickly events can spin out
of control—even before 2034.” —Robert M. Gates, Secretary of
Defense 2006-2011
“I could not stop reading 2034. With sharply drawn, vibrant
characters caught in an all too plausible future conflict, the
novel left me fascinated, moved, thrilled and, ultimately,
haunted.” —Phil Klay, author of Missionaries
“2034 is an exciting, interesting, and informative novel about a
hypothetical future war with China that is largely determined by
actual decisions already made. It describes in detail how a single
technological leap forward by an adversary, in this case China,
could destroy our ability to communicate, resulting in a blind,
hapless military. It also demonstrates how today’s military
policies will leave a future United States without adequate
resources to wage a high intensity conventional war and be forced
to resort to a first strike nuclear response and its horrific
consequences. Anyone who is concerned about where today’s military
technology decisions are taking us should read this book.” —Karl
Marlantes, author of Matterhorn and Deep River
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