Through the prophetic analysis of Amin Maalouf, we have before us all the reasons leading to an inevitable shipwreck.             The predestined shipwreck of the earth's civilizations. America, although still the only superpower, has lost its moral credibility. Europe, which offered its people and the rest of humanity the most ambitious and comforting project of our time, is collapsing. The Arab-Muslim world is constantly sinking into a bottomless crisis with its populations in despair, moving, with disastrous consequences for the entire planet. Major "emerging" or "reborn" nations, such as China, India, and Russia, are entering the global stage in a poisonous atmosphere dominated by the philosophy of "every man for himself" and the law of the strong. A new arms race and serious threats terrorize the planet, which we cannot confront with global solidarity, as in the state the world has fallen into, this cannot be achieved. For more than half a century, the author has been observing the world and traveling. He found himself in Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War, and then in Tehran at the advent of the Islamic Republic. In this engaging and wise book, he is both a spectator and a thinker. He presents us with all the significant events that caused humanity to slip to the edge of the abyss. Just before the brink of the destruction of civilizations.