COVID-19 is speeding up history, but how? What is the shape of the world to come? Lenin once said, "There are decades when nothing happens and weeks when decades happen." This is one of those times when history has sped up. CNN host and author Fareed Zakaria helps readers to understand the nature of a post-pandemic world: the political, social, technological, and economic consequences that may take years to unfold. Written in the form of ten "lessons," covering topics from natural and biological risks to the rise of "digital life" to an emerging bipolar world order, Zakaria helps readers to begin thinking beyond the immediate effects of COVID-19.

Introduction: The bat effect -- Buckle up -- What matters is not the quantity of government but the quality -- Markets are not enough -- People should listen to the experts--and experts should listen to the people -- Life is digital -- Aristotle was right--We are social animals -- Inequality will get worse --- Globalization is not dead -- The world is becoming bipolar -- The greatest realists are the idealists -- Conclusion: Nothing is written.