“The Empire and the Five Kings”  by Bernard-Henri Lévy looks at five ambitious powers that are challenging America’s place in the world.  All are former empires eager to re-assert their primacy. None of the five –Russia, China, Turkey, Iran, and Sunni radical Islamism—are friends of liberal democracy. “Natasha’s Dance” by Orlando Figes offers an in-depth view of one of these rivals—Russia—as seen through its developing culture. “The Uninhabitable Earth” by David Wallace-Wells forecasts where the climate changes we are witnessing now might be leading.