Chokepoints

American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare

De: Edward Fishman

Narrado por: Robert Petkoff

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"Deftly written, Chokepoints is a compelling and dramatic narrative about the new shape of geopolitics."—Daniel Yergin, The Wall Street Journal

"A timely, riveting world tour...[An] absorbing book."—The Economist

“Remarkable...One of the most important books on economic warfare ever written.”—Paul Kennedy, author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers

The epic story of how America turned the world economy into a weapon, upending decades of globalization to take on a new authoritarian axis—Russia, China, and Iran.

It used to be that ravaging another country’s economy required blockading its ports and laying siege to its cities. Now all it takes is a statement posted online by the U.S. government.

In Chokepoints, Edward Fishman, a former top State Department sanctions official, takes us deep into the back rooms of power to reveal the untold history of the last two decades of U.S. foreign policy, in which America renounced the gospel of globalization and waged a new kind of economic war. As Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Ayatollah Khamenei wreaked havoc on the world stage, mavericks within the U.S. government built a fearsome new arsenal of economic weapons, exploiting America’s dominance in global finance and technology. Successive U.S. presidents have relied on these unconventional weapons to address the most pressing national-security threats, for good and for ill.

Chokepoints provides a thrilling account of one of the most critical geopolitical developments of our time, demystifying the complex strategies the U.S. government uses to harness the power of Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Big Oil against America’s enemies. At the center of the narrative is an eclectic group of policy innovators: the diplomats, lawyers, and financial whizzes who’ve masterminded America’s escalating economic wars against Russia, China, and Iran.

Economic warfare has become the primary way the United States confronts international crises and counters rivals. Sometimes it has achieved spectacular success; other times, bitter failure. The result we live with today is a new world order: an economic arms race among great powers and a fracturing global economy. Chokepoints is the definitive account of how America pioneered this new, hard-hitting style of economic war—and how it’s changing the world.

©2025 Edward Fishman (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Deftly written, Chokepoints is a compelling and dramatic narrative about the new shape of geopolitics…[Fishman] has written an engrossing account of contemporary history. He provides a framework for understanding the battles to come as well as the growing challenges and risks facing companies that operate in the global economy…[A] timely guide to the fragmenting of the global economy and the rising tensions that go with it.”—Daniel Yergin, The Wall Street Journal

"A timely, riveting world tour....Edward Fishman, a former official at both the Department of State and the Department of the Treasury, describes how the American government's unglamorous economic arms have jumped into the middle of the country's geopolitical fights over the past two decades....[Chokepoints] contains a satisfying amount of dash and drama....It also makes for a cracking yarn....[An] absorbing book."—The Economist

“A masterful narrative of U.S. economic warfare in the 21st century….Fishman’s clear and thoughtful writing weaves the story together.”—Financial Times

An economics textbook disguised as a thriller

An awesome book on the recent history of economic warfare. Fishman makes the argument that using so-called chokepoints in the economy can help prevent wars and let the US project its power without the need for military action. He reveals the inside story of the various economic sanction regimes starting in the 1990s with Iraq, and then charting the history through Iran, North Korea, Russia and China. This is absolutely fascinating and has more than enough technical depth for a finance nerd, but written in an engaging tone that makes the reader think they are in the middle of a global thriller instead of an economics textbook.

detailed realistic as-is information on policy making and evolutions

the book give much concrete details of how some policies came to being, the way they actually did realistically.

Amazing narrative of critical story

Excellent book telling the tail of the rise of US sanctions and export controls starting with Iran, then Russia and finally China. Globalization is over and this book helps us understand the tools that ended it.

Interesting

I am not sure of its efficacy going forward. It would seem that Trump is trying to destroy the value of the dollar and trade. I would think that long term counter measures are being developed.

ComplicatedWorld

Interesting look into how intertwined the world has become and how government has tried to use such to influence.

Impressive

The complications our leaders face when geopolitical challenges present themselves, out of their control. I grew up hearing about many of these challenges and seeing all back end work was incredible. Inspired me to take more MBA courses in Trade Wars.

Engrossing and magical

The author does an amazing job guiding non-expert readers through the key players and history of US Economic Warfare. The book does an amazing job of not casting these weapons and their use as an inevitability, but showing how all of the key decisions makers behaved along the way. The narrator too does a great job taking what's on it's face a dull topic and turning it into a thrilling ride

Sanctions are like antibiotics

Very thorough and important book about US sanctions and economic weapons used against Iran, China and Russia. This book is vital to understand current geopolitics. Highly recommend.