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131 reviews for:
We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time
José Andrés
3.9 AVERAGE
131 reviews for:
We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time
José Andrés
3.9 AVERAGE
I admired Andrés for his work during the government shutdown in January of 2019, helping to feed government workers suddenly without income. And I'm impressed by the amount of meals he was able to deliver to an entire island leveled by a hurricane. But the book reads more like a business journal of events, numbers met, and conversations with other organizational leaders than a narrative of an intense and rewarding experience.
Andrés spends much of the book criticizing other disaster-relief organizations. He talks a lot about his fights with bureaucracy and how FEMA, the Red Cross, and other agencies were ineffective in responding to the crisis and how he mostly had to go it alone without their help. He never seemed to try to understand the other side of things. *Why* were the other aid organizations reluctant to help him? Almost all of the evidence he offers of them doing nothing is anecdotal: the Red Cross claimed to be spending millions in Puerto Rico, but Andrés "never saw" any Red Cross vehicles when he was outside. The governor said he wanted to help, but Andrés only met him once and never saw him again. Maybe the governor was helping Puerto Rico in ways that didn't involve meeting with Andrés?
It wasn't the greatest book to read on the topic of what happened to the people of Puerto Rico. Most of the book takes place in hotels and conference centers, as Andrés talks about the number of meals made and emails sent in his fights with bureaucracy. The most we get of the people is when Andrés hands out meals in a town and "everyone was grateful."
I felt this would have been a more effective book if it had been co-authored with a Puerto Rican who was experiencing food shortages and got involved in the charitable work of Andrés on the ground level, to give more of a human element to the work that was being done.
Still, Andrés makes some good points. Food is more than just calories, to be distributed via military MREs. It's life, culture, community. Giving someone a barely-edible packet doesn't feed the soul the way a hot meal reminiscent of their childhood will. And the ultimate takeaway from the book: if you want to help, just start helping, in any way that you can.
Andrés spends much of the book criticizing other disaster-relief organizations. He talks a lot about his fights with bureaucracy and how FEMA, the Red Cross, and other agencies were ineffective in responding to the crisis and how he mostly had to go it alone without their help. He never seemed to try to understand the other side of things. *Why* were the other aid organizations reluctant to help him? Almost all of the evidence he offers of them doing nothing is anecdotal: the Red Cross claimed to be spending millions in Puerto Rico, but Andrés "never saw" any Red Cross vehicles when he was outside. The governor said he wanted to help, but Andrés only met him once and never saw him again. Maybe the governor was helping Puerto Rico in ways that didn't involve meeting with Andrés?
It wasn't the greatest book to read on the topic of what happened to the people of Puerto Rico. Most of the book takes place in hotels and conference centers, as Andrés talks about the number of meals made and emails sent in his fights with bureaucracy. The most we get of the people is when Andrés hands out meals in a town and "everyone was grateful."
I felt this would have been a more effective book if it had been co-authored with a Puerto Rican who was experiencing food shortages and got involved in the charitable work of Andrés on the ground level, to give more of a human element to the work that was being done.
Still, Andrés makes some good points. Food is more than just calories, to be distributed via military MREs. It's life, culture, community. Giving someone a barely-edible packet doesn't feed the soul the way a hot meal reminiscent of their childhood will. And the ultimate takeaway from the book: if you want to help, just start helping, in any way that you can.
The story of providing food to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria is truly astounding. Between the volume and speed at which Jose Andres mobilized chefs and volunteers, the absolute incompetence of federal agencies, and the wrongheadedness of the current president - all of it is astounding. I know that it was important to include the details about the failures of the government to provide context for the action on the ground, but HOLY MOLY, was it frustrating. I found myself dreading going back to the book, so I ended up skimming a lot of the recapping of FEMA meetings and Trump tweets. Now that I've finished, the story actually reminds me a lot of a concept from a book we read at the office, [b:Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World|40086702|Nine Lies About Work A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World|Marcus Buckingham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1525873085l/40086702._SX50_.jpg|62126117]. There's an idea there that planning can only tell you want you've done, but intelligence is how you know what to do next. Jose Andres' team gathered intelligence and then worked rapidly with that information, day by day. Really interesting to see that happen in real life, and it's incredible what they were able to accomplish by supporting the local economy and rallying volunteers.
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You should never feel guilty about feeling ambitious when you're trying to help other people. If you don't dream, then reality will never change.
... there's a world of difference between wanting to do good and knowing how to make it happen.
If you want to talk to Puerto Ricans, try sharing a meal with them. If you want to tell them you care, try cooking for them.
With a couple of pieces of bread, you can easily put something in between and make a good sandwich. In a moment of real need, a simple sandwich looks like heaven. And if you feed the people, you are creating an army of first responders. If you look after people in their time of need, they become the most important and effective response: they become volunteers.
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You should never feel guilty about feeling ambitious when you're trying to help other people. If you don't dream, then reality will never change.
... there's a world of difference between wanting to do good and knowing how to make it happen.
If you want to talk to Puerto Ricans, try sharing a meal with them. If you want to tell them you care, try cooking for them.
With a couple of pieces of bread, you can easily put something in between and make a good sandwich. In a moment of real need, a simple sandwich looks like heaven. And if you feed the people, you are creating an army of first responders. If you look after people in their time of need, they become the most important and effective response: they become volunteers.
I am Puerto Rican who lived on the island during Hurricane María. I also went to José Andrés's headquarters to deliver meals to a community destroyed by the winds and flooding the hurricane caused. This is why this book was so hard to read for me.
Nonetheless, Chef José Andrés spares no punches as he describes the conditions he found on the island when he arrived, the bureaucratic runaround he received from FEMA, his disgust at how the president of the United States handled the tragedy, and the lack of initiative/drive by certain members of the local government.
His message is simple: We must change how we deliver food to those suffering in the aftermath of tragedies such as this one. He drives it home by mentioning how he did it and contrasting it with how FEMA outsources the contracts to inexperienced companies that prepare and ship meals that people cannot even use.
This is a must read for people working in disaster management / relief as well as people wondering how best to serve those affected by natural disasters such as this hurricane.
Nonetheless, Chef José Andrés spares no punches as he describes the conditions he found on the island when he arrived, the bureaucratic runaround he received from FEMA, his disgust at how the president of the United States handled the tragedy, and the lack of initiative/drive by certain members of the local government.
His message is simple: We must change how we deliver food to those suffering in the aftermath of tragedies such as this one. He drives it home by mentioning how he did it and contrasting it with how FEMA outsources the contracts to inexperienced companies that prepare and ship meals that people cannot even use.
This is a must read for people working in disaster management / relief as well as people wondering how best to serve those affected by natural disasters such as this hurricane.
Finished this in two sittings. After a slow start, the story pulls you in. José is so inspirational in the way that he dreams of bringing his approach to all future disasters. If more people thought like him, Puerto Rico would have had an incredibly smooth recovery.
The writing itself was a little repetitive and jumped in and out of timelines with some vagueness in some sections. But overall, the story and the message makes up for it. Absolutely recommend.
The writing itself was a little repetitive and jumped in and out of timelines with some vagueness in some sections. But overall, the story and the message makes up for it. Absolutely recommend.
I really enjoyed the content of the book and the story of his work in Puerto Rico, but the edtmiting is very repetitive. I would have much rather heard a greater explanation of process and individual stories (of which there were some) but it was very repetitive in its bashing of bureaucracy. It could have been shorter but I love the work he did and the obstacles overcome.
Very interesting story! The writing is serviceable, but not great. Really loses me sometimes, because it's written like a diary (one of the ones where you just list out what you did). Would have been a great documentary! Is there a doc? A doc would have been amazing! Imagine seeing the food! Drool. As it is, it's like a very long. Long complaint. From someone who keeps reminding you that they would do everything so much better. Which yeah... gets tiring.
Jose Andres has a strong personality (par for the course with high-powered chefs, I suppose). Kinda reminds me of... you know Ron Swanson when he's showing his "permit" and it's just a note that says he can do what he wants? Yeah! Andres needed one of those. I listened to this on audiobook, so i could really hear his disdain whenever he says Trump. That was the best part! "Trrrruumpffft!" almost like he wants to spit at the end, every time. Basically he's saying that emergency relief is over-managed (too much red-tape, too much money going nowhere) and under-managed (not enough focus on actually alleviating the emergency). Not enough trust of the private sector (read: the people who actually live and work in the emergency area).
Jose Andres has a strong personality (par for the course with high-powered chefs, I suppose). Kinda reminds me of... you know Ron Swanson when he's showing his "permit" and it's just a note that says he can do what he wants? Yeah! Andres needed one of those. I listened to this on audiobook, so i could really hear his disdain whenever he says Trump. That was the best part! "Trrrruumpffft!" almost like he wants to spit at the end, every time. Basically he's saying that emergency relief is over-managed (too much red-tape, too much money going nowhere) and under-managed (not enough focus on actually alleviating the emergency). Not enough trust of the private sector (read: the people who actually live and work in the emergency area).
An inspiring read about a chef who stepped up to an enormous challenge, overcoming not only a natural disaster of epic proportion, but also a government mired in ineptitude and callousness. Chef Andres shares his moments of frustration and triumph in unvarnished prose, not sparing an administration more interested in preserving its own image than helping fellow citizens. He and his team filled a gigantic void, providing a blueprint for future relief efforts in an ever-changing world.
this was hella inspiring.. even for one as cynical of the aid industry in general as i. it shows that there are more efficient modes of aiding those in need- by centralizing their needs, relying on the locals knowledge, their economy and their knowledge... and by individuals responding without the need for bureaucracy. too often these words are bandied about and not really applied to the situation on the ground. we have much to learn... and unfortunately so does the aid industry.
José Andrés' work is so inspiring and he has so many ideas to improve disaster relief but this book could have used some more editing. There was so much repetition that it was hard to get through.
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced