5819. The Way of the World A Story of Truth and Hoppe in an Age of Extremism, by Ron Suskind (read 26 2023) This was published in 2008 and should have been read then. It is a devastating account of the war against Iraq and how we were lied to in order to get into it. I have long deprecated George W. Bush and his minions for that war and this book reinforces my views on Bush and that war. There is a lot in the book reinforcing what I felt in the years of that event. but the book has much seemingly little to do with the events of that war. So the early part of the book was a drag. And we of course have an even worse former Republican president to deprecate now. ( )

A slow starter, but once you get into it, Suskind weaves a great story. His investigative work is second to none, and his ability to find and interview the people who were directly involved, rather than yet another interview with the high-level policymakers, makes this worth a read. ( )

As Bob Woodward has been sort of the official chronicler of the Bush Administration, Ron Suskind has been the shadow chronicler, exposing the dark side in his two previous books, The Price of Loyalty and The One Percent Doctrine. Both of those books revealed the failings of the Bush White House, and there is some of that in The Way of the World but most of the book explores the growth of alternatives to the endless war, beyond the reach of the Administration, even among career public servants. ( )

Interesting style. A telling of post-9/11 America through the stories of players in and outside the beltway. Very human, and has a more fictive narrative than a typical historical non-fiction. The chapters about Benazir Bhutto I think were the most interesting and most telling with regards to dirty-side of politics. ( )

Suskind paints a vivid picture of the issues faced when terrorism puts democracy in conflict with secuirty. This books makes (more) public some of the outrageous breaches of freedom that have occured in the name of homeland security. It's a chilling read -- one that makes clear the inevitable abrogations of freedom when public safety is used as a reason to rewrite the Bill of Rights.

It also demonstrates the consequences of a foreign policy built on "US interests" and how that can put our desires in conflict with the desires of other peoples for free societies.

An impressive piece of research and a book all citizens should read. It may not change anyone's views, but it will make the tradeoffs more clear. ( )