From Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Ron Suskind comes a startling look at how America lost its way and at the nation's struggle, day by day, to reclaim the moral authority upon which its survival depends. From the White House to Downing Street, from the fault-line countries of South Asia to the sands of Guant�namo, Suskind offers an astonishing story that connects world leaders to the forces waging today's shadow wars and to the next generation of global citizens. Tracking down truth and hope ...
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From Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Ron Suskind comes a startling look at how America lost its way and at the nation's struggle, day by day, to reclaim the moral authority upon which its survival depends. From the White House to Downing Street, from the fault-line countries of South Asia to the sands of Guant�namo, Suskind offers an astonishing story that connects world leaders to the forces waging today's shadow wars and to the next generation of global citizens. Tracking down truth and hope within the Beltway and far beyond it, Suskind delivers historic disclosures with this emotionally stirring and strikingly original portrait of the post-9/11 world. In a sweeping, propulsive, and multilayered narrative, The Way of the World investigates how America relinquished the moral leadership it now desperately needs to fight the real threat of our era: a nuclear weapon in the hands of terrorists. Truth, justice, and accountability become more than mere words in this story. Suskind shows where the most neglected dangers lie in the story of "The Armageddon Test" --a desperate gamble to send undercover teams into the world's nuclear black market to frustrate the efforts of terrorists trying to procure weapons-grade uranium. In the end, he finally reveals for the first time the explosive falsehood underlying the Iraq War and the entire Bush presidency. While the public and political realms struggle, The Way of the World simultaneously follows an ensemble of characters in America and abroad who are turning fear and frustration into a desperate--and often daring--brand of human salvation. They include a striving, twenty-four-year-old Pakistani �migr�, a fearless UN refugee commissioner, an Afghan teenager, a Holocaust survivor's son, and Benazir Bhutto, who discovers, days before her death, how she's been abandoned by the United States at her moment of greatest need. They are all testing American values at a time of peril, and discovering solutions--human solutions--to so much that has gone wrong. For anyone hoping to exercise truly informed consent and begin the process of restoring the values and hope--along with the moral clarity and earned optimism--at the heart of the American tradition, The Way of the World is a must-read.
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Add this copy of The Way of the World: a Story of Truth and Hope in an to cart. $30.85, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Harperluxe.
To say that the other story threads were only tangentially related was, I think, to miss the point of the book. Suskind uses personal stories to show how we as humans tend toward clannishness and distrust of those that are different, while weaving in historical narratives that show the age old struggle between reason and faith, and how cultures seem to be gravitating toward extremism and fundamentalism, while denying reason and argument. Whether we are talking about why we went to war in Iraq or how we might prevent terrorists from acquiring a nuclear weapon, this is the context we must place these stories. Granted, the interweaving of these very different narratives can be at times disjointed, but I think this is an important book. It does, however, require the reader to think about how the different elements are related... that's the point.
Cole
Oct 10, 2008
Way of the World
Clearly Suskind performed an enormous amount of research and tracked down some significant players on the world stage to gather the information for his story. It's an important element in the understanding of the level to which the U.S. has fallen in world categories of ethics, morality, honesty and trustworthiness. Sadly, when his main research was done, Suskind was left with a short story, and he needed to publish a book. To accomplish this, he threw in other stories only tangentially related to his main theme. Adding to his problem, Suskind employed an awkward narrative structure that leaves the reader wondering to whom the various characters are speaking. Except for the suspicion that Suskind is in his scenes -- though not clearly placed there -- it seems too often that the characters are talking to themselves. Suskind's editor/proofreader should have served him better in this area and regarding the many irritating typos that were not cleansed. My guess is that helpers just let Pulitzer Prize winners go their way with little interference. Not a good plan.
