I found The Grand Chessboard a genuinely exhilarating and, at times, unsettling listen. The first half was a revelation: Brzezinski’s analysis of Europe, Russia and Ukraine felt remarkably prescient, to the point that I was repeatedly bowled over by how clearly he anticipated later developments. The clarity with which he sets out the strategic logic of NATO, the EU and the post‑Soviet space alone makes the book worth reading. However, I found the Asia section much less convincing. The treatment of China and the wider Asian balance didn’t show the same level of foresight and now feels noticeably off the mark. By the end, I also found myself increasingly irritated by the unexamined assumption of the United States’ rightful primacy. I appreciate that the book is explicitly written from that vantage point, but on an emotional level it started to feel as though that confidence shaded into arrogance, and that this may have bled into and blunted the analysis in the later chapters. So my reaction is mixed but still positive: I was blown away by the first half and underwhelmed by much of the second, and I finished the book both impressed by its insights and annoyed by its central assumption about the virtue of America’s place in the world. Still, for its early chapters alone, it’s a fascinating and important read.