The author of "The Revenge of Geography" here turns his insightful gaze to a region that for centuries has been a meeting point of cultures, trade, and ideas. Through a journey along the coasts of the Adriatic Sea, he passes through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece. Although rarely treated as a unified area, the Adriatic is at the center of some of the most significant challenges of our time: the rise of populist politics, the migration crisis, and conflicts over control of energy resources are just a few of them. Once again, the Adriatic becomes a global trade hub that will help shape Europe's relationship with the rest of the world, as China and Russia compete for dominance over its ports.

Kaplan explores how the region has changed over the three decades he has observed it as a journalist. He finds that understanding both the historical and contemporary Adriatic opens a window into the future of Europe as a whole, and reveals a harsh truth: the era of populism is a transient phenomenon—a symptom of the age of nationalisms, which is coming to an end. Instead, the continent is returning to alignments of the early modern period, as the divisions between East and West meet and clash in the countries of the Adriatic and ultimately throughout Europe.

Combining knowledge of history, literature, art, and architecture with analysis of current issues, Kaplan demonstrates that the Adriatic can reveal to us where global developments are heading.