An incisive analysis of the failures that led to war in Ukraine and where we go from here, from Russian chess grandmaster and early Putin-critic Garry Kasparov, with a foreword from Zelensky.

What happens when you ignore the writing on the wall?

For over a decade, Russian chess grandmaster, writer and political activist Garry Kasparov shouted early warnings about the rise of demagogues like Trump, about tech stagnation that could lead to pandemics, and, most presciently of all, about the failure of the world to stand up to Putin before he launched his bloody invasion of Ukraine. Kasparov's predictions and moral compass have unerringly pointed true.

Now, with his trademark precision, the master strategist diagnoses where it all went wrong. He identifies the most immediate dangers facing the world in the wake of war in Ukraine, and maps out how to confront and resolve them. We don't need politicking, punditry, or preaching - we need a plan.

Drawing on his own remarkable life as well as hundreds of examples from history and current events, Kasparov argues for bold thinking and bolder action. He defends the values of innovation, freedom, risk, sacrifice, growth, and justice. There is good and evil in the world, he reminds us. There is progress and decay, liberty and tyranny, and we must choose. The world is not a chessboard, but some things are black and white.