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sarsaparillo's review against another edition
4.0
This book reads like a series of beautifully written long-form articles on a theme - exposés, character profiles, and field reporting - rather than a comprehensive history. The theme is the decline in power and prestige of the US's diplomatic institutions, and the loss of talent and soft power.
The time period covered is mostly the last few administrations, but opens with a chilling description of the mass firings that took place in the State Department during the Trump transition, which sets the stage well.
Much of the book is focused on Pakistan and Afghanistan, where Farrow's former (late) boss, Richard Holbrooke spent a lot of his time. A chapter on Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum is entertaining and evocative and he serves as prime example of recurring problem. That is: recruitment of convenient allies from the ranks of dubious military groups, which can at some other time become just the sort of anti-democratic human-rights abusers that the US is purportedly out to stop. After finally pulling the spotlight away from central Asia, a series of other examples are found from Egypt to Columbia.
The story told is one of rival departments pushing policies of "war" or "peace", at the mercy of White House favour, The trend away is from the State Department's diplomatic solutions to international problems and toward a higher proportion of military generals in advisory roles. The result is a litany of errors, many of which Farrow contends could have been avoided or softened had the deep expertise of the diplomatic leadership been heeded.
The picture he paints is bleak: as the State Department withers, it loses much of its senior talent, and aspiring diplomats are discouraged from signing up, or simply prevented from doing so by quotas. The resulting brain drain is a wound that could take decades to heal, assuming the political will to do so even returns.
The book is entirely focused on the US foreign service and doesn't make any attempt to investigate the goings-on within the corresponding institutions of other countries. A tour of such might make for another fascinating book, and I'd love any recommendations along those lines.
The time period covered is mostly the last few administrations, but opens with a chilling description of the mass firings that took place in the State Department during the Trump transition, which sets the stage well.
Much of the book is focused on Pakistan and Afghanistan, where Farrow's former (late) boss, Richard Holbrooke spent a lot of his time. A chapter on Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum is entertaining and evocative and he serves as prime example of recurring problem. That is: recruitment of convenient allies from the ranks of dubious military groups, which can at some other time become just the sort of anti-democratic human-rights abusers that the US is purportedly out to stop. After finally pulling the spotlight away from central Asia, a series of other examples are found from Egypt to Columbia.
The story told is one of rival departments pushing policies of "war" or "peace", at the mercy of White House favour, The trend away is from the State Department's diplomatic solutions to international problems and toward a higher proportion of military generals in advisory roles. The result is a litany of errors, many of which Farrow contends could have been avoided or softened had the deep expertise of the diplomatic leadership been heeded.
The picture he paints is bleak: as the State Department withers, it loses much of its senior talent, and aspiring diplomats are discouraged from signing up, or simply prevented from doing so by quotas. The resulting brain drain is a wound that could take decades to heal, assuming the political will to do so even returns.
The book is entirely focused on the US foreign service and doesn't make any attempt to investigate the goings-on within the corresponding institutions of other countries. A tour of such might make for another fascinating book, and I'd love any recommendations along those lines.
17aurelianos's review against another edition
DNF. The book delivered by Farrow does not match the book described on the jacket. I was looking for a strong nonfiction book about the militarization of diplomacy and instead essentially got a biography of Ronan Farrow and Richard Holbrooke. It’s well written and seemingly well researched, but I wasn’t interested in reading biographical nonfiction and wish the book was accurately described in its promo materials. The promise of interviews with every Sec of State was intriguing, but I don’t feel they were utilized well by the author.
doublydaring's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.5
jbelang85's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, this was a good book, but not a great one. I will start off with something most people have said. The first half of the book is a mini biography/eulogy for Ronan Farrow’s mentor, With some segways to another State Department official. The middle section, he discusses various areas where military foreign policy has failed. The last brief section talks about the Iran negotiations minor, short lived success with North Korea and how the Trump administration basically destroyed them.
Farrow prose is quite good and I enjoyed the book. But I found overall, his theme was not served. This was not a collection of op-ed’s rather than a concise book on foreign policy. I felt like he leaped to much praise in the first part of the book. I felt the second part was inconsistent and did not fully follow through on the point he was making. He talked about a war crime our Afghan allies may have committed and the silence the US had, but did not fully connect to the overall theme of the book. He then moves on the Africa and Colombia, but I felt like each story never reached the ultimate conclusion he was going after.
Overall, good and Farrow is an excellent writer, but I felt like the book was lacking which kept it from being a great book.
Farrow prose is quite good and I enjoyed the book. But I found overall, his theme was not served. This was not a collection of op-ed’s rather than a concise book on foreign policy. I felt like he leaped to much praise in the first part of the book. I felt the second part was inconsistent and did not fully follow through on the point he was making. He talked about a war crime our Afghan allies may have committed and the silence the US had, but did not fully connect to the overall theme of the book. He then moves on the Africa and Colombia, but I felt like each story never reached the ultimate conclusion he was going after.
Overall, good and Farrow is an excellent writer, but I felt like the book was lacking which kept it from being a great book.
alexfromatlanta's review against another edition
5.0
Let's begin by noting that this book wasn't what I thought it was going to be. While promoting the release, Mr. Farrow made a point of mentioning that he'd interviewed every living Sec. of State. Somehow that translated in my head to mean that the book would be a series of pontifications from elder statesmen about the state of the world. I read this immediately following Madeleine Albright's new book, Fascism, expecting more of the same
I was very wrong. Instead, Mr. Farrow pulls the curtain back on several of the most prominent Foreign Policy battlegrounds of the last 30 years. In compelling narrative detail, you get to see the power struggles between diplomats, military leaders, warlords and heads of state.
Given the time span, Mr. Farrow deals with several Presidential administrations (and deals with them fairly in my opinion). The overarching theme is that, regardless of who is in power, US diplomatic power has been on the wane for a while now. By investing more heavily in military solutions and the arming of foreign actors, we've not only made many situations worse but actually planted the seeds of our struggles down the line.
I found it interesting that Mr. Farrow calls out several events in the book that have been depicted in major Hollywood films (e.g. Black Hawk Down & Charlie Wilson's War). In every case, Mr. Farrow mentions the films to say that they didn't give the full account, and in fact, real life was much more complicated than Hollywood would have us believe. Those moments really drive home the importance of books like this. They provide us opportunities dig deeper and understand the world better.
The book ends in the present, at a time when the State Department has undergone significant budget cuts and been largely sidelined by the Trump administration. Couple this with a purge of career Foreign Service offices and declining recruitment opportunities, and our diplomatic strength is at a historic low.
The book rings of slight Doomsdayism, but with solid examples from the recent past, it's an easy sell. American interest must be guarded by both our might and our influence. When our influence is gone, we're only left with our guns. Here's hoping that Mr. Farrow inspires a generation of future diplomats, and that we, the voting public, can demand that our government lead with handshakes before fists.
I was very wrong. Instead, Mr. Farrow pulls the curtain back on several of the most prominent Foreign Policy battlegrounds of the last 30 years. In compelling narrative detail, you get to see the power struggles between diplomats, military leaders, warlords and heads of state.
Given the time span, Mr. Farrow deals with several Presidential administrations (and deals with them fairly in my opinion). The overarching theme is that, regardless of who is in power, US diplomatic power has been on the wane for a while now. By investing more heavily in military solutions and the arming of foreign actors, we've not only made many situations worse but actually planted the seeds of our struggles down the line.
I found it interesting that Mr. Farrow calls out several events in the book that have been depicted in major Hollywood films (e.g. Black Hawk Down & Charlie Wilson's War). In every case, Mr. Farrow mentions the films to say that they didn't give the full account, and in fact, real life was much more complicated than Hollywood would have us believe. Those moments really drive home the importance of books like this. They provide us opportunities dig deeper and understand the world better.
The book ends in the present, at a time when the State Department has undergone significant budget cuts and been largely sidelined by the Trump administration. Couple this with a purge of career Foreign Service offices and declining recruitment opportunities, and our diplomatic strength is at a historic low.
The book rings of slight Doomsdayism, but with solid examples from the recent past, it's an easy sell. American interest must be guarded by both our might and our influence. When our influence is gone, we're only left with our guns. Here's hoping that Mr. Farrow inspires a generation of future diplomats, and that we, the voting public, can demand that our government lead with handshakes before fists.
amberfinnegan's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very well written book. You can tell that Mr Farrow took a lot of time and energy to get accurate information and was able to interview quite a few prominent figures in our government.
Before reading this, the State Department was not high on my list of things that I know much about, so Farrow did a wonderful job of enlightening me on the issues that our diplomats have been facing for over a decade now. The current administration seems to have taken the torch of dismantling our State Department and is running with it.
This is a very good read for anyone who is interested in politics and what is happening with the state of our union. Of course, it's quite bleak.
Before reading this, the State Department was not high on my list of things that I know much about, so Farrow did a wonderful job of enlightening me on the issues that our diplomats have been facing for over a decade now. The current administration seems to have taken the torch of dismantling our State Department and is running with it.
This is a very good read for anyone who is interested in politics and what is happening with the state of our union. Of course, it's quite bleak.
wshier's review against another edition
4.0
Summary: American foreign policy has been pretty bad for a long time. Our projection of that policy has frequently relied too much on force and too little on diplomacy. Despite the pretty obvious failures of that strategy, it is getting worse not better. Kicker (not news): Rex Tillerson is a moron.
judahgruen's review against another edition
5.0
This is the best page turner I have ever read on diplomacy. Farrow goes into a hodgepodge of diplomatic episodes and has an especially enthralling, up close and personal view of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke.
jadecobain's review against another edition
4.0
It was an interesting look into members of government.