Daniel Wagner has 6 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 3 narrators, with an average listener rating of 5★ across 1 ratings. The most-rated is China Vision.
China Vision
Summary
Daniel Wagner, a veteran current affairs analyst and Asia expert, has been traveling to China since 1986, has visited the country dozens of times, has worked with some of its largest Chinese financial institutions and state-owned enterprises, and has published scores of articles on China since the 1990s. In this book, he examines why the Chinese government acts as it does on the international stage and the impacts it has had, and will have, on countries around the world in the future. Having been a leading economic and political power for centuries, it is well on its way to once again becoming the world's leading country in the coming decade. This is due in large part to China's amazing transformation from rural economic backwater to global manufacturing powerhouse, but also the Chinese government's unique view of the country's place in the world. From China's perspective, it is merely picking up where it left off in the 19th century. Seen in Asia as the 800-pound gorilla that can more or less do as it pleases in the economic, political, and military arenas, and elsewhere in the world as a country that must be reckoned with, China plays by its own set of rules. Very few countries are willing to object or stand up to it. The book explores how and why China has approached foreign policy as it has, the impact this has had on countries around the world, and what the rest of the world can expect from China once it becomes the world's largest economy, its strongest political power, and continues to develop its already advanced technological prowess. There is good reason why China is on the precipice of global supremacy-it has used the existing global framework to its own distinct advantage, and yet, it would like to modify that framework to ensure that its comparative advantage continues well into the future. The Chinese government has already redefined some of the rules of the game in areas such as cyber warfare and artificial intelligence, and is in the process of redefining the nature of diplomacy and international relations. Understanding the Chinese government's motivations and actions will be more important than ever going forward. The book is broad in scope and includes chapters on the global economy, Asia and the South China Sea, the US, the Middle East, cyber warfare, and AI. Listeners will benefit from Wagner's decades of experience in Asia and his own unique lens from which to analyze and interpret international relations as well as Beijing's likely future impact on the global economic, political, technological, and military landscape. The stakes are high for the Chinese, greater Asia, and the world, as China seeks to create a world crafted in its own image.
©2019 Daniel Wagner (P)2019 Daniel Wagner
Global Risk Agility and Decision Making
Summary
In Global Risk Agility and Decision Making, Daniel Wagner and Dante Disparte, two leading authorities in global risk management, make a compelling case for the need to bring traditional approaches to risk management and decision-making into the 21st century. Based on their own deep and multifaceted experience in risk management across numerous firms in dozens of countries, the authors call for a greater sense of urgency from corporate boards, decision makers, line managers, policymakers, and risk practitioners to address and resolve the plethora of challenges facing today's private and public sector organizations. Set against the era of man-made risk, where transnational terrorism, cyber risk, and climate change are making traditional risk models increasingly obsolete, they argue that remaining passively on the side-lines of the global economy is dangerous, and that understanding and actively engaging the world is central to achieving risk agility. Their definition of risk agility taps into the survival and risk-taking instincts of the entrepreneur while establishing an organizational imperative focused on collective survival. The agile risk manager is part sociologist, anthropologist, psychologist, and quant. Risk agility implies not treating risk as a cost of doing business, but as a catalyst for growth. Wagner and Disparte bring the concept of risk agility to life through a series of case studies that cut across industries, countries and the public and private sectors. The rich, real-world examples underscore how once mighty organizations can be brought to their knees - and even their demise by simple miscalculations or a failure to just do the right thing. The listener is offered deep insights into specific risk domains that are shaping our world, including terrorism, cyber risk, climate change, and economic resource nationalism, as well as a frame of reference from which to think about risk management and decision making in our increasingly complicated world. This easily digestible audiobook will shed new light on the often complex discipline of risk management. Listeners will learn how risk management is being transformed from a business prevention function to a values-based framework for thriving in increasingly perilous times. From tackling governance structures and the tone at the top to advocating for greater transparency and adherence to value systems, this audiobook will establish a new generation of risk leader, with clarion voices calling for greater risk agility. The rise of agile decision makers coincides with greater resilience and responsiveness in the era of man-made risk.
©2016 Palgrave Macmillan (P)2016 Daniel Wagner and Dante Disparte
The Chinese Vortex
Summary
China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the most ambitious infrastructure project ever undertaken, and will ultimately result in more than one trillion dollars of investment by the time it is finished. The initiative is breathtaking in its scope and scale, with scores of countries participating and dozens of massive dams, railways, roads, and power projects transforming the landscape throughout the developing world. Only China is capable of undertaking such a bold Initiative. Beijing might have chosen to make unadulterated development as its core objective, issuing billions of dollars in grants to host governments to fund the projects and lending its substantial engineering and construction expertise to nations that desperately need to develop their infrastructure, seeking nothing in return. Instead, Beijing chose to lend the governments of these nations money it knew could not be repaid and use the BRI not only to project its soft and hard power and seek greater influence throughout the world, but to blatantly pursue the acquisition of natural resources. In the process, many BRI host nations have become indebted to Beijing, owing it tens of billions of dollars and falling into a debt trap. Beijing required that these governments agree to either cede control or outright ownership of these projects to the Chinese government or its companies, when they inevitably defaulted. Some projects never stood a chance of operating profitably. Doing so has made these countries beholden to Beijing in a variety of ways. This book is an exploration of the profound impacts the BRI has had on nations around the world - both developing and developed - as well as on the Chinese government and its participating companies. Beijing failed to foresee the potential impacts of its approach on host nations - or, perhaps, it did not care. Now, there have been substantial negative reverberations, prompting Beijing to rethink it approach. Will Beijing approach the BRI differently in the future? Is it even capable of doing so? These are among the many questions addressed in this, Daniel Wagner’s third book on China. His first book on China, China Vision, delved into how Beijing is seeking create an alternative world order in China’s image. His second China book, The America-China Divide, analyzes the scope and scale of the fissure between the two countries, going well beyond the economic and political realms. In The Chinese Vortex, he takes a deep dive into the shockwaves that have been felt around the world as a result of the BRI, providing numerous examples that chronicle how damaging many of these projects have been to countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Daniel explores many of the economic, geopolitical, and environmental impacts, but also a host of additional topics that help the listener better understand what is really at stake. Among the many topics explored are how Beijing’s pursuit of a national digital currency may affect BRI nations and the world, why the BRI is losing its appeal, and what Beijing - and the world’s nations - must do to try to mitigate its negative impacts. It is an informative and eye-opening exposé that sheds light on Beijing’s brazen pursuit of influence, natural resources, and power through the BRI.
©2020 Daniel Wagner (P)2020 Daniel Wagner
AI Supremacy: Winning in the Era of Machine Learning
Summary
Artificial intelligence (AI) is having a profound impact on individuals, businesses, and governments, but what is required to get ahead and stay ahead of the AI curve is not well understood. AI Supremacy is a comprehensive guide to AI's impact on a societal and global level and provides a vision for how AI and machine learning will likely influence the way business is done, societies function, and governments interact in the future. Daniel Wagner, a thought leader in risk management and current affairs, and Keith Furst, an expert in data management and financial crimes, have crafted an insightful, entertaining, and unique audiobook that takes listeners on a wild ride through the canyons and valleys of AI to examine many of its most important subtopics. From globalization to jobs, financial services to the role of governments, the nexus with cyber risk to spying, and from China's quest to international relations, the authors have delved deeply into the subject matter. The race for AI supremacy is about more than establishing a competitive position in the global marketplace for innovative applications and technological prowess - it is about anticipation, adopting the right mind-set, and having the right resources, a futuristic orientation, and the ability to execute. While few organizations and governments have achieved the right mix to lead in the race for AI supremacy, those that have already possess a substantial lead. Those that have not are simply falling further and further behind. Can those that are not already in the race get in the race with any realistic hope of catching up? Can those who are already in the race ever catch up with the leaders? Who will win in the end? Should AI be feared or embraced? These are among the many questions Wagner and Furst explore in this enticing audiobook.
©2018 Daniel Wagner (P)2019 Daniel Wagner
The America-China Divide
Summary
China and the US are in a pitched battle to control the way the world functions - from the global trade and investment regime and choice of reserve currency to its top products and which country is the most influential. Governments, businesses, and individuals are being forced to make a choice: lean in the direction of the eagle and pursue a free, democratic, and market-oriented economic and political system, or lean in the direction of the panda, toward that of an authoritarian form of government and state-dominated economic system. It is, ultimately, a confrontation that will determine our collective future, and the stakes are extremely high. For some nations, businesses, and consumers, the choice is easy and obvious; for others, it is a real dilemma. This book explores many of the dynamics at play in arriving at that decision, including the impact China and the US have on global politics, economics, technology, military power, geostrategic influence, and the environment. Wagner has written an important and fascinating exploration of the divisive landscape that is already in the process of defining the 21st century. The rules governing geopolitics, supply chains, military strategy and capabilities, and a host of other variables that define how the world functions are in the process of being rewritten by these two great powers. The America-China Divide is an insightful and sobering analysis. As Washington seeks to preserve the postwar world order it was instrumental in creating, Beijing is attempting to seize what it views as China's rightful place as the world's leading nation, based on its own set of rules. The ability to control the global corridors of power, the health of national economies, AI and military supremacy, and the fate of the world's environment all ride in the balance. In this race, there will be no single winner or loser, but rather, an ongoing skirmish that will last well into the future for the hearts, souls, minds, and dollars of everyone on the planet.
©2020 Daniel Wagner (P)2020 Daniel Wagner
Virtual Terror: 21st Century Cyber Warfare
Summary
Anyone who logs on to the internet can become a victim of virtual terrorism, whether via email, social media, a Google search, or simply by logging on to a computer. Anyone seeking to do harm to others online can be a virtual terrorist, and it is incredibly easy to become one. That is the era we live in now - someone sitting behind a laptop half a world away can interfere with, invade, or take over your life, business, or government. You may not even realize it, but you may already have become a victim; if you have not, you will become one eventually. In this extremely timely, important, and compelling audiobook, Daniel Wagner redefines what terrorism has become in the 21st century. Unlike more conventional types of terrorism, in which the perpetrator seeks recognition and reveals his or her identity, with virtual terrorism, the identity of the person, group, or government responsible for acts of terror is deliberately hidden in an anonymous, borderless, and lawless world. Their motives and objectives may be unclear, and the length of an attack, or whether it will be repeated, are generally unknown. What virtual terrorists have in common with more traditional terrorists is the use of coercion or intimidation to achieve their objectives - if they choose to reveal what those objectives are - but that is where the commonality ends. They can strike at any time, invisibly and silently. You may never know they are even there, and they may plant malware on your computer that steals your information for years without being discovered. Wagner takes us on a comprehensive tour of the Virtual Terrorism landscape - from cybercrime and bioterrorism to drones and artificial intelligence - to reveal the chilling reality that confronts us all. After listening to this audiobook, you may not ever want to log on to your smartphone or the internet again. The audiobook is a clarion call for individuals, businesses, and governments to rise up against virtual terrorists, for if we fail to do so now, the battle may soon be lost.
©2017 Daniel Wagner (P)2017 Daniel Wagner