If you wish to understand why the political world is as it is today, read this book.
Fantastically written - just like a history school-book but much better and much more exciting if the reader is interested in global history.
The author puts historical matters of different parts of the world in connection to each other which allows to understand wars, political and economical developments or situations of the past and their impact right into the present time.
A book worth reading more than once.