What we’re reading: “The Storm Before the Calm: America’s Discord, the Coming Crisis of the 2020s, and the Triumph Beyond”

“What we’re reading” is a new series from Denison Forum focusing on one of the many books in Dr. Denison’s expansive library that he or a member of the Denison Forum team has recently read.

These brief reviews are intended to give you quick context, a reason to read the book, what you can expect to take away from having read the book, a few choice quotes, and a preview of the first chapter (when available).

We hope you find this series helpful in curating your to-read shelf.

About The Storm Before the Calm

George Friedman focuses on the underlying patterns of American history to offer a reassuring looking at the United States’ future in The Storm Before the Calm: America’s Discord, the Coming Crisis of the 2020s, and the Triumph Beyond.  

Friedman writes that two cycles have been repeating themselves over the span of US history: an institutional one, lasting about eighty years and ending in adjustments in the relationship between government and society, and a socioeconomic one, lasting about fifty years and climaxing in economic and social change.

In the 2020s, for the first time, both cycles will come to an end, leading to an unprecedented time of change.

Why Christians should read The Storm Before the Calm

Friedman’s book offers hope that the United States will emerge stronger than ever from the turmoil it is experiencing.

The big takeaway

The United States was an invented nation, formed around an idea instead of merely geography or a people group. That, along with other qualities like the diversity of its people, helps make the US more nimble than other nations in reinventing itself.

Three quotes from The Storm Before the Calm

• “Regardless of who is president, fear and loathing will stalk the land for another decade.”
• “The United States is a paradox. Dedicated to the pursuit of happiness, America was born in battle and has fought many wars since. The warrior lives by duty, not happiness, yet is integral to American culture.”
• “The decision-making structure in Washington is complex, diffuse, and at odds with itself.”

Read the first chapter