Casa Árabe and Alianza Editorial are organising the presentation of this book by the French-Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf, winner of the Goncourt Prize and perpetual secretary of the French Academy.

A devastating war has recently been declared in Europe, the nuclear threat is constant, the division between the West, China and Russia is growing stronger and stronger... We are living in a very turbulent time that is already affecting our way of life and calling into question the foundations of our civilisation. We are aware of this, but until now no one has analysed this crisis with the depth it deserves.

"Humanity is going through one of the most dangerous periods in its history. In some respects, what is happening is unprecedented; but in others, it is a direct legacy of earlier conflicts that pitted the West against its adversaries. This book is about these confrontations of the distant and near past." Amin Maalouf

In "The Labyrinth of the Lost" Amin Maalouf traces the origins of the new confrontation between the West and its adversaries, tracing the itinerary of four great nations: Meiji-era Japan, Soviet Russia, China and the United States. A huge historical fresco that sheds light on today's conflicts, the motivations of their protagonists and the strange paradoxes of our times.

The author will be in conversation with Enric González.