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Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'
After the Fall: Being American in the World We've Made by Ben Rhodes
1 review
mari1532's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I actually own the hardcover copy of this book which I preordered, but I have been on more of an audiobook kick lately so I checked that out of my local library.
I first encountered Rhodes as a guest and then host of "Pod Save the World" and I really enjoy his political insights on Geopolitics and his ability to banter.
This book is a very insightful look into how the United States rose to be a global superpower and how in the wake of September 11th lost its standing due to the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.
In terms of the structure of the book I really enjoyed how Rhodes broke the narrative up into parts and interwoven his own foreign political experiences in with the history and interviews he conducted. The interviews and interactions he had with individuals outside of the United States were actually my favourite part of the book because they really drove home some of the points that Rhodes was trying to make throughout this book. In particular that the pride that many people feel as citizens of the United States is also a sentiment that people have about their own countries, such as the example Rhodes provides about Chinese activists.
I enjoyed all of the sections, but since I had listened to Rhodes' "Another Russia" podcast the section discussing Russian politics and the invasion of Ukraine was slightly easier for me to follow along with since I had a little more background knowledge on the information being discussed. This is not to say that Rhodes does not do a good job of outlining the relevant informant for each section, but the geopolitical dynamics of some of these topics are complicated and I feel that this is a book I could read again and pick up on something entirely new.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in geopolitics, history, globalization, or non-fiction more generally. Also, Rhodes tells a great story about his encounter with Queen Elizabeth II, which is sure to make you laugh.
I first encountered Rhodes as a guest and then host of "Pod Save the World" and I really enjoy his political insights on Geopolitics and his ability to banter.
This book is a very insightful look into how the United States rose to be a global superpower and how in the wake of September 11th lost its standing due to the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.
In terms of the structure of the book I really enjoyed how Rhodes broke the narrative up into parts and interwoven his own foreign political experiences in with the history and interviews he conducted. The interviews and interactions he had with individuals outside of the United States were actually my favourite part of the book because they really drove home some of the points that Rhodes was trying to make throughout this book. In particular that the pride that many people feel as citizens of the United States is also a sentiment that people have about their own countries, such as the example Rhodes provides about Chinese activists.
I enjoyed all of the sections, but since I had listened to Rhodes' "Another Russia" podcast the section discussing Russian politics and the invasion of Ukraine was slightly easier for me to follow along with since I had a little more background knowledge on the information being discussed. This is not to say that Rhodes does not do a good job of outlining the relevant informant for each section, but the geopolitical dynamics of some of these topics are complicated and I feel that this is a book I could read again and pick up on something entirely new.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in geopolitics, history, globalization, or non-fiction more generally. Also, Rhodes tells a great story about his encounter with Queen Elizabeth II, which is sure to make you laugh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, War, and Colonisation
Moderate: Confinement, Gaslighting, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Antisemitism
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