Economists who insist that "offshore outsourcing" is just a routine extension of international trade are overlooking how major a transformation it will likely bring and how significant the consequences could be. The governments and societies of the developed world must start preparing, and fast.

Never popular at home, Taiwan's independence movement has suffered successive electoral defeats and is increasingly irrelevant. The movement's demise and the rise of politicians promising greater cooperation with Beijing have removed the only plausible cause of war between China and the United States.

One new book on Saudi Arabia tells how anticommunism and religion have shaped relations with the United States; another describes rumblings inside the kingdom today. Neither says enough about what Washington should do now.