Okay, democracy. [World Politics in 100 Words by Eleanor Levenson]

How do you sum up world politics in just 100 words? This striking book takes on the challenge! From activist to wealth, each of the carefully chosen 100 words has its own 100-word long description and beautiful illustration, providing a thoughtful, unbiased introduction to key political terms and ideas to help the young (and not so young) get to grips with the subject. Basically, everything you need to know in a nut shell.

Along with some expected words, such as government and vote, you'll also discover less predictable words that will give you a fresh perspective. With utopia and dystopia, try to imagine a perfect world and then its opposite. Through equality, explore what it means for everyone to have the same rights and responsibilities. With words such as nation, empire, rights, corruption, pundit,
debt, citizen, tax, nationalism, and military, gain perspective on the many facets of world politics.

Finally, you'll be asked, "If you were to choose the 100 words, which would you pick?"

I read Eleanor Levenson's World Politics in 100 Words fully aware that it was listed, at least in NetGalley, as a children's book. A millenial, I am also an old fogey, so a lot of times I am disconnected with "the children," the youth's of the day. I can only go off of memory and impression. There being distinct categories, I guess "children" is not "middle grade." Or maybe it is. Regardless, I was working under the impression of elementary school age, up to about fifth grade.

100 words to describe world politics, each described in 100 words themselves, is not enough to cover the intricacies of the world. Monarchies and democracies were covered in the most general terms. I have no idea why but I expected an entry on "prime minister." The would-be dichotomy between monarchy and democracy was a bit too black and white. Realistically, 200 words would have been more to my liking. But for an intro to politics the book did a good job.

The irony that I should critique there not being enough entries, or the intro to politics being too shallow, when the highest point of my reading experience is that I felt like I learned new things. Maybe it was the concise, constricting format for each entry, but the ideas were very succinctly presented. For the person not wanting a full deep dive into politics, or for the child without the attention span or topical interest, 100 words is more than enough. Still, I don't know if the concepts were global enough. The selection, for me, had a slant towards Western political systems. 4 stars from me.

World Politics in 100 Words is set for publication September 22, 2020.