The Way Of The World: A Story Of Truth And Hope In An Age Of Extremism (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
Eye-opening and some great perspectives here. I have a deep respect for authors who can maintain a level of professionalism when discussing hot subjects or politics. This book covers a lot of ground quickly, and you might have to do some quick look-ups for names and events if you're like me and was too young to remember some of them. This logs the US following of renegade uranium from Russia. He could have gone a lot of ways when discussing Bush's policies, the US response to terrorism and nuclear threats, and the racial profiling of Middle Eastern-looking men here in America, but I felt like he kept the personal commentary to a minimum within the literal text- the only major letdown was his personal love for Blackwater and other mercenary types, which got annoying fast. As with any political commentary, keep an open mind and take everything with a grain of salt. I wish the thesis of Suskind's book were more persuasive. He seems to think that the "way of the world" is not what 90% of his evidence points to - that power corrupts and the kind of power exercised in Washington over recent years has not only corrupted absolutely, but squandered the moral capital of the nation at a time when its authority and credibility might lead the war-torn world toward peace. Instead, he argues, we are facing certain catastrophe as nuclear weapons become increasingly available to terrorists, whose whereabouts and activities are largely unknown and will remain so, as long as mutual distrust dominates the foreign policies of all the nations that are their likely targets.In a way that grabbed my interest from page 1, the book starts out by telling the stories of a number of individuals during the years 2006-2007. One of them is a lawyer for an Afghan detainee in Guantanamo, another a young Afghan exchange student adapting not too successfully to American life in Colorado, another a Pakistani with a US education and a job at a consulting firm in Washington DC who becomes a terror suspect, another a man with connections in intelligence obsessed with the lack of official concern over the global black market in uranium, another a woman whose work has taken her to refugee camps in desperate parts of the world.Thrust into the center of these stories is an account of high-level officials in the CIA, DHS, British Intelligence, the State Department, and the White House and the roles played by each in the manipulation and misrepresentation of intelligence (as we now know) to pave the way for the invasion of Iraq. Part of the story of those years includes the return of Benazir Bhutto to Pakistan, which Suskind recounts in a day-by-day description of the last days leading up to her assassination.Before it's done, the book returns to the stories of the individuals, catching up with the changes that have taken place - including the "Americanization" of the exchange student, now back in Afghanistan, the Supreme Court decision that restored the rule of habeas corpus for foreign detainees, the gathering of a family for a wedding in Pakistan, where the president, Musharraf, continues to accrue dictatorial powers to himself. The "way of the world" Suskind argues in these last pages is that human progress occurs when foes try to save each other, which can only happen when a nation with the moral authority can lead the way. Without hope of that, we are lost. Suskind, as a former journalist for the Wall Street Journal, knows how to cover a lot of ground with a cast of many characters, producing a virtual snapshot of the nation, in which we can see critical issues being played out to political ends by decision makers whose choices have had an impact on the lives of millions.
What do You think about The Way Of The World: A Story Of Truth And Hope In An Age Of Extremism (2008)?
I rarely read current events nonfiction, but this one was worth the time.
—gcastrone
My friend Vida recommended this one. Also requested from the library.
—miranda789
