Two of the most interesting books that I've read in the last few months are Dulles' The Craft of Intelligence, which is on the subject of intelligence gathering and espionage (and which strikes me as something that should be part of any politically engaged citizen's required reading, as the practice of intelligence is such an important part of the formation of public policy) and Bertrand Russel's prescient book length essay from 1922, The Problem of China.
I'd like to write a bit more about both, but here's a quote from the latter:
"Chinese problems, even if they affect no one outside China, would be of vast importance, since the Chinese are estimated to constitute about a quarter of the human race. In fact, however, all the world will be vitally affected by the development of Chinese affairs, which may well prove a decisive factor, for good or evil, during the next two centuries"
